tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-364058562018-03-19T18:57:46.478-04:00Ask a Korean!No, seriously, ask away. The email is on the right.T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.comBlogger1342125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-6694982026314176972018-03-01T22:11:00.000-05:002018-03-01T23:42:59.295-05:00Wakanda and Busan<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZeN3YTJ6hn0/Wpi9UTeUQ6I/AAAAAAAAB4s/TE8pA1NiKFkeehmdQJ4zkuEoY-VYOOBBACLcBGAs/s1600/hkllhjzx2jjvylxg31qs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="360" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZeN3YTJ6hn0/Wpi9UTeUQ6I/AAAAAAAAB4s/TE8pA1NiKFkeehmdQJ4zkuEoY-VYOOBBACLcBGAs/s640/hkllhjzx2jjvylxg31qs.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lupita Nyong'o in <i>Black Panther</i><br />(<a href="https://io9.gizmodo.com/lupita-nyongo-was-so-pumped-to-sign-onto-black-panther-1822409502">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was the realization that Lupita Nyong’o was the best Korean speaker in <i>Black Panther </i>that jolted me out of the movie’s magic.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Black Panther is a cultural moment, and deservedly so. It succeeds both as entertainment and as an inspirational piece of film art. Much of the praise for the movie has focused on the movie’s depiction of Wakanda—a fictional African country constructed with so much loving detail that it cannot help but feel real. (<a href="https://twitter.com/diasporicblues/status/964770975190528000">This awesome twitter thread</a> showcases some of the details, drawn from various African cultures, that are visible in Black Panther.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a Marvel comics fan, I was ready for the ride. My favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe movie is <i>Captain America: Civil War</i>, and no small part of my love for that movie comes from the fact that it is the first moment I got to watch T’Challa on screen. Probably like many others, I drew a breath when the Wakandan stealth jet slid past the virtual camouflage to fly over the glistening skyscrapers in the hidden city. I was fully lost in the ensuing scenes that made Wakanda seem touchable, breathable.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So it was more than a little ironic that a depiction of a real city—specifically, Busan, Korea—was the needle-scratch moment for me, taking the scale made of vibranium off my eyes. In a movie about a fictional country, the least real thing was a real city inhabited by 3.4 million people.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> <a href="mailto:askakorean@gmail.com">askakorean@gmail.com</a>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hollywood movies never quite figured out Korea. As a major economy and a significant force in global pop culture, Korea is important enough to be regularly featured in big movies. (Seoul made an appearance in <i>Avengers: Age of Ultron</i>, for example.) Yet American moviemakers know so little about Korea that they didn’t even yet develop an orientalist stereotype for the country, like the Chinese-language street signs and hanging ducks for Hong Kong or high-tech, steel-and-glass buildings of Tokyo. Korean cities in a Hollywood blockbuster usually is a mishmash of different orientalist caricatures. In <i>Cloud Atlas</i>, for example, the "Neo Seoul" has Hong Kong’s streets and Japan’s interior design. It bears no visual relation to the actual look of Seoul.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jgu-w8CDI40/Wpi-IEyov0I/AAAAAAAAB40/4-l2QLgrp0gagNfx4RqccoB8CB6ZHu0lwCLcBGAs/s1600/Cloud%2BAtlas%2BDoona%2BBae%2Bas%2BSonmi-451%2Band%2BJim%2BSturgess%2Bas%2BCommander%2BHae-Joo%2BChang%2Bin%2BNeo%2BSeoul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="902" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jgu-w8CDI40/Wpi-IEyov0I/AAAAAAAAB40/4-l2QLgrp0gagNfx4RqccoB8CB6ZHu0lwCLcBGAs/s640/Cloud%2BAtlas%2BDoona%2BBae%2Bas%2BSonmi-451%2Band%2BJim%2BSturgess%2Bas%2BCommander%2BHae-Joo%2BChang%2Bin%2BNeo%2BSeoul.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside a home in "Neo Seoul," in <i>Cloud Atlas</i>.<br />(<a href="http://moviemarmiteman.blogspot.com/2013/03/cloud-atlas.html">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Busan in Black Panther, in which the movie spends about 20 minutes or so, is not much better. To a Korean speaker, the movie’s deficiency in the Korean language skill is incredibly grating, especially because the worst offenders were characters who were supposed to be Koreans. Lupita Nyong’o’s Korean was oddly accented as if she was trying to speak Chinese or another tonal language, but she nonetheless delivered her lines confidently, naturally and comprehensibly. The same cannot be said for other characters.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Black Panther’s foray into Busan begins with the city’s fish market, and nearly every Korean speaker I’ve met who watched the movie complained about “the fish market lady.” The role, played by Korean American Alexis Rhee, engages in a playful banter with Nyong’o’s character Nakia. But the playfulness of the moment is lost on a Korean speaker, because the fish market lady’s Korean is garbled to a point that it is incomprehensible. Other lines in Korean by other minor characters were also stilted and unnatural. For example, a CIA agent supposedly said “back there” in Korean, according to the subtitles. But the Korean phrase he said was as awkward as saying “behind the location.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(Side note: it appears Rhee cornered the market on cringe-worthy depictions of Koreans or Korean Americans—one of her major appearances was in <i>Crash</i>, a ham-fisted movie about race relations. Her character’s name is “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375679/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast">Kim Lee</a>.” I wish I were making this up. But then again, I don’t want to be too harsh on Rhee here. Being an Asian American actor is hard enough—if she couldn’t get this type of roles, what other role would even be available for her?)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The fish market lady, turns out, was not actually a fishmonger but a bouncer to a secret, underground casino—which looks exactly like the casino featured in the James Bond movie <i>Skyfall</i>. Except the Skyfall casino was supposed to be in Macau, a Chinese city famous for gambling, and had the typical interior design of a Macanese casino. Already jolted by the fish market lady’s bad Korean, I went into a full double facepalm when I saw the cocktail waitresses in the casino wearing hanbok-resembling miniskirts. It was a sad attempt by an otherwise excellent movie to signal that, somehow, this Chinese-looking casino was actually Korean. I don't know if there really is an underground casino in Busan. But if there were such a thing, the cocktail waitresses there would not be wearing hanbok.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T3GsqDPqJvk/Wpi_Z2c_tYI/AAAAAAAAB5A/NJ_GV5HP_Xk2aSeYlkaHHeGb5tRuTc6IgCLcBGAs/s1600/black-panther-fight-breakdown-913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="421" data-original-width="913" height="294" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-T3GsqDPqJvk/Wpi_Z2c_tYI/AAAAAAAAB5A/NJ_GV5HP_Xk2aSeYlkaHHeGb5tRuTc6IgCLcBGAs/s640/black-panther-fight-breakdown-913.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Busan Casino in Black Panther<br />(<a href="http://www.joblo.com/newsimages1/black-panther-fight-breakdown-913.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The missed opportunity in Black Panther’s depiction of Busan looms even larger because Busan is such a real city. Busan is a distinctive place, and has been that way for a long time. The melodic, allegro tempo Busan accent is instantly recognizable. (Would it have been too much to ask for Black Panther’s Busanians to speak like Busan people, seeing that the movie cared a great deal about Wakandans’ languages and accents?) Like Boston or Philadelphia, it is a second city that carries itself like the first city, refusing to cede grounds to the glitzier Seoul or New York. As an old port city, Busan can be gritty and grimy, but in a lovable way. Koreans from Busan are deeply proud of being from Busan, and show their civic pride by madly cheering for the local sports teams. (Free tip for future movie makers: if you are showing Busan, make sure to include a scene about the Lotte Giants, Busan’s baseball team.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is there a movie set in Boston or Philadelphia that does not loudly proclaim how Boston or Philly everything is in the movie? Yet there is nothing Busan about the Busan in Black Panther. The “Movie Busan” in Black Panther is a fake, in a way the fictional Wakanda is not. Wakanda in Black Panther is irreplaceable; change Wakanda with any other city, and the movie no longer makes sense. The Movie Busan is very much replaceable. Swap it out with any city—it doesn’t even have to be an Asian city, any non-US city will do—and the movie would remain exactly the same. Like much of Asia presented in Hollywood movies, the Movie Busan is a prop, an exotic place in which the main characters can romp around before returning home.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, what is to be done about this?&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The standard woke answer is straightforward: give proper representation to Busan. Showcase the locations that are clearly associated with the city, and populate it with actors reflecting the lived experience of Busan’s residents.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I am in favor of all of the above, but I remain unsatisfied. Suppose Black Panther did all of the above: how much does that improve the movie? No matter how realistic the Movie Busan may be, the movie is about Wakanda, not Busan. To be sure, there would be at least some improvement—the more realistic Busan would in turn make Wakanda more realistic, as Wakandans would be interacting with real people in a real city. But then again, a very realistic Prague could replace the very realistic Busan to serve the same function. Does it really make a difference if an Asian city is made to feel a bit more real for about 20 minutes of run time in a movie that is, ultimately, about men in tights punching each other?&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Much of the discussion surrounding Asian American representation on screen frustrates me with its pettiness. Too many Asian Americans, in my view, expend so much energy and emotion in order to win table scraps—as if the fish market lady in Black Panther having pitch-perfect Busan accent would somehow empower the little Korean American girls watching the movie. A recent example of this involved <i>Doctor Strange</i>, another Marvel movie. In the original comics, the Ancient One character who teaches Doctor Strange is a Tibetan. In the movie version, Tilda Swinton played the Ancient One. I watched with bemusement the ensuing charges of whitewashing. True, Swinton playing a Tibetan character can be considered whitewashing. But then again, the Ancient One from the comics is itself <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Yao_(Earth-616)">an orientalist caricature from the 1960s</a>. The whole concept of a Tibetan guru hidden in the mystical mountains is itself a racial stereotype. I’m supposed to be upset about how an Asian actor didn’t get to play this role?&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I believe the insistence on authentic representation loses sight of an important truth: that humans can process only a few perspectives at a time. Every great story, including Black Panther, has the center and the periphery. The center is in focus, the periphery in haze. The center holds, while the periphery changes. Too often, Asian Americans obsess about what happens in the periphery, because they have never been in the center. Again, it would have been nice if the Movie Busan in Black Panther was a bit more realistic. But ultimately, we should have the wherewithal to say: it doesn’t really matter. Black Panther is not about Korea. In fact, the movie would be ruined if it tried to be about Korea rather than Wakanda.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It would be wiser to accept that the universal perspective is not available to us. That to some degree, we are all strangers to someone else. At the end of the day, representation on screen cannot possibly be about creating a fiefdom of equal screen time for each underrepresented group. (How boring would that movie be?) Nor is the solution clawing at the periphery, hoping to make the tiny real estate just a little prettier while the rest of the story passes by. Far better course is to be at the center of the narrative, to tell our story, and let the others recede in the background for a change. If Asian Americans can be confident that their story will be told in due time, as majestically and vividly as the African American story is in Black Panther, perhaps we would become more generous about laughing off some bad accents.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i>&nbsp;<a href="mailto:askakorean@gmail.com">askakorean@gmail.com</a>.&nbsp;</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-62745213521484012072018-02-08T23:08:00.000-05:002018-02-08T23:08:19.592-05:00The Ask a Korean! Winter Olympics Travel Guide<div style="text-align: justify;">PyeongChang Winter Olympics officially opens tomorrow. If you happen to be visiting Korea for the Olympics, let the Korean take you around. Like <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2016/05/tks-korea-travel-itinerary.html">my last attempt at a travel guide</a>, this is not a collection of "best of"s or "must see"s; it is just a number of things I would suggest if we were friends. If that sounds good, off we go.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Before We Go</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><br /></u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let's go over some super basics. This is where we are going:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dNCw1UEf9Gs/WnxpROivAhI/AAAAAAAAB20/M4uUBHIiltEU6qVmyFLSpFMCuFcH7-0BgCLcBGAs/s1600/pyeongchang-location-on-the-south-korea-map-min.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="602" data-original-width="409" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dNCw1UEf9Gs/WnxpROivAhI/AAAAAAAAB20/M4uUBHIiltEU6qVmyFLSpFMCuFcH7-0BgCLcBGAs/s1600/pyeongchang-location-on-the-south-korea-map-min.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://ontheworldmap.com/south-korea/city/pyeongchang/pyeongchang-location-on-the-south-korea-map-min.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">We will be hanging out in Gangwon Province, the mountainous eastern seaboard region of Korea. It is not far from Seoul (less than two hours on a high speed train,) but it will feel very different from Seoul. Gangwon has beautiful nature (both mountains and the ocean!) and interesting food that draws from fresh ingredients. Oh, and it will be really, <i>really</i> cold. PyeongChang Olympics may end up being the coldest Winter Olympics ever, with single digit temperature throughout the Games. But don't worry--there is plenty on this trip to make up for the cold weather.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b></b><u><br /></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To get in the mood, I'd suggest watching a few Korean movies set in Gangwon, perhaps on the plane ride to Korea. <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/welcome_to_dongmakgol?"><i>Welcome to Dongmakgol</i></a> [웰컴 투 동막골], set in a remote, isolated village in Gangwon, features a relevant topic: reconciliation with North Korea. For a movie featuring the stark and striking beauty of Gangwon in winter, I recommend <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4108740/">End of Winter</a></i> [철원기행].</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You will likely land in Incheon Airport west of Seoul. (If you want to check out the sights in Seoul, you can take a look at <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2016/05/tks-korea-travel-itinerary.html">my previous travel suggestions</a> that include a 3-day itinerary for Seoul.) There is a high speed train going directly from the airport to the Olympic sites. The roads are also straight and smooth should you choose to take a bus or drive. On the way there, you can listen to some classic Korean pop music about the winter. My favorite is <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGTti01gV7c">The Winter Sea</a></i> [겨울 바다]. <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz6A77790J4">At the Ski Resort</a> </i>[스키장에서] is also solid if you want something more upbeat.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OGTti01gV7c" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now that we are in the mood, we will get going. Gangwon can be roughly divided into two parts: west and east of the Taebaek Mountain range. PyeongChang is in the west, nestled within the jagged mountain range. But much of the Games (usually involving skating and indoor activities) will also be in Gangneung, a port city on the other side of the mountains. (They are about a 30 minute drive from each other.) Both sides of Gangwon have something different to offer, so do visit both cities at a minimum.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)</div><i><br /></i><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><b><u>Near PyeongChang</u></b><br /><b><u><br /></u></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">PyeongChang is a mountain hamlet just south of <b>Odaesan National Park</b>&nbsp;[오대산 국립공원], a gorgeous mountain with ancient Buddhist temples. Driving up toward the mountain, the first temple one meets is <b>Woljeongsa </b>[월정사], "the Temple of the Moon Spirit." You would come to the temple after taking a brief hike through a forest of fir trees.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WYGPldaEc1E/Wnz6t6DEbAI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/KR3JUvApw3cWFvRn5c5pjNVDAhdbc_CaACLcBGAs/s1600/%25EC%2598%25A4%25EB%258C%2580%25EC%2582%25B0%25EC%259B%2594%25EC%25A0%2595%25EC%2582%25AC_021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WYGPldaEc1E/Wnz6t6DEbAI/AAAAAAAAB3Q/KR3JUvApw3cWFvRn5c5pjNVDAhdbc_CaACLcBGAs/s640/%25EC%2598%25A4%25EB%258C%2580%25EC%2582%25B0%25EC%259B%2594%25EC%25A0%2595%25EC%2582%25AC_021.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Woljeongsa and its Nine Story Pagoda<br />(<a href="http://post.phinf.naver.net/MjAxNzAzMjJfNjkg/MDAxNDkwMTQyNTY1NDc5.4YYQzSrkAZ-Q-ZyeiBu0NgkNzjJCdtMueF-FqUV1C1kg.8uoJ5LSeu2OMLZqVtHrVtUo3YdA0zfeXDsTqKx-sYo4g.JPEG/%EC%98%A4%EB%8C%80%EC%82%B0%EC%9B%94%EC%A0%95%EC%82%AC_021.jpg?type=w1200">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Founded in 643 A.D., the temple went through several rounds of destruction, most recent one of which was during the Korean War in 1951. But the striking nine-story pagoda that stands in the middle of the modern reconstruction is the Goryeo Dynasty original from the 11th century.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Further up the mountain (you can drive up further or hike about 5.5 miles) is <b>Sangwonsa</b> [상원사], established in 705 A.D. The "Temple of High Completeness" is the home to Korea's oldest bronze bell, built in 725 A.D. Sangwonsa is fairly close to the Odaesan mountain peak: only 2.2 miles away from the temple. A leisurely 1.5 hour hike each way would get your body temperature up, with a nice view from the top as a bonus.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After exercising, it's time to eat. In my view, the most distinctive and underrated component of Korean cuisine is vegetables. The lack of options for cooked vegetables in America drives me nuts, because Koreans are not about throwing together raw vegetables and pretend it's food by calling it "salad." Koreans eat thousands of vegetables cooked in all kinds of ways: grilled, fermented, pickled, tossed, or all of the foregoing in different orders. Because different Korean regions grow different vegetables, the vegetable dishes are the ones that really show off the regionality in Korean cuisine.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And you could do worse for vegetables than the interior parts of Gangwon Province, where people have subsisted on vegetables by necessity because rice hardly grows in the mountains. Visit <b>Buil Sikdang</b> [부일식당] (Gangwon-do Pyeongchang-gun Jinbu-myeon Jinbujungang-ro 98), located in a village on the foot of the Odaesan mountain, just outside of the National Park to the south. And please, eat your vegetables.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ijnX24mCJWU/Wn0BN-Txx3I/AAAAAAAAB3g/kZJfkLfAhdYSaUIC1pT2qMvm8-Am_i1fACLcBGAs/s1600/h2006105_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="500" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ijnX24mCJWU/Wn0BN-Txx3I/AAAAAAAAB3g/kZJfkLfAhdYSaUIC1pT2qMvm8-Am_i1fACLcBGAs/s1600/h2006105_z.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mountain Vegetables at Buil Sikdang<br />(<a href="https://www.menupan.com/restaurant/restimg/000/zzmenuimg/h2006105_z.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">While you're on the interior side of Gangwon Province, you should also try dishes made of buckwheat, the grain of choice for the mountainous region that cannot grow rice (which requires flat land and lots of water.) Gangwon makes all kinds of food with buckwheat--noodles, jelly, pancakes, dumplings. A good place to try them all is <b>Maemilkkot Pilmuryeop</b> [메밀꽃 필무렵] (Gangwon-do Pyeongchang-gun Bongpyeong-myeon Yi Hyoseok-gil 33-13), a short drive away from the Olympic Village.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The restaurant is named after a short novel by Yi Hyo-seok [이효석], <i>When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom</i>, considered the finest naturalist work in Korean literature. (The short story is available in English, thanks to the great people at <a href="http://library.klti.or.kr/node/19614">Korean Literature in Translation</a>. It is worth your time.) The restaurant is right near Yi's birth house and a cultural village, which you can check out if you're interested in Korean literature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><u>Other places to eat:</u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Napjak Sikdang</b> [납작식당]. Gangwon-do Pyeongchang-gun Daegwanryeong-myeon Daegwanryeong-ro 113.&nbsp; Walkable from the Olympic Plaza, this restaurant is known to be the inventor of another Gangwon Province specialty, <i>osam bulgogi</i> [오삼불고기]--a spicy mix of grilled squid and pork belly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Yongpyeong Hoegwan</b> [용평회관].&nbsp; Gangwon-do Pyeongchang-gun Daegwanryeong-myeon Hoenggye 2-gil 15.&nbsp; Come on, did you really think I'd leave you without Korean barbecue while you are in Korea? The mountainous Gangwon Province is also home to Korea's finest beef. The sugar-and-soy-sauce marinaded slop is not the thing to get here, although it is available if you really want it. Instead, go for the thinly sliced brisket, lightly grilled and dabbed in sauce. Finish it up with some hot soup made with homemade <i>doenjang </i>[된장, soy bean paste].<br /><br /><b><u>Near Gangneung</u></b><br /><br />Gangneung (pronounced "Gah-ng Nung"), located a 30 minute drive east from PyeongChang, is a different kind of town. It is not a large town by any definition, but compared to a mountain hamlet that is PyeongChang, Gangneung may as well be a metropolis. As a longtime resort destination, Gangneung boasts a beautiful white sand beach with clear blue water, dotted with evergreen pine trees. So what if the water is so cold you'd probably die within minutes of jumping in? There are plenty of history, sights and food to enjoy.<br /><br />Near the city center there are two of the best preserved Korean traditional mansions: <b>Ojukheon </b>[오죽헌] and <b>Seongyojang</b> [선교장]. Ojukheon, the "Black Bamboo Villa," is the birth place of Yi Yi [이이], one of the foremost Confucian scholars during the Joseon Dynasty. How foremost was Yi? Both Yi and his mother Sin Saimdang [신사임당], who is also considered the apex of Confucian womanly virtue, appear on the modern Korean money. (Check out your KRW 5,000 and 50,000 bills.) Seongyojang, "the Boat Bridge Mansion," is widely considered the most immaculately preserved traditional Korean homes.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TXe4w79gKNQ/Wn0M59fOmPI/AAAAAAAAB3w/f996j8yEH0o6EVFGK4OGZ828QyRDxHn9QCLcBGAs/s1600/19caefc3_iw2000.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="622" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TXe4w79gKNQ/Wn0M59fOmPI/AAAAAAAAB3w/f996j8yEH0o6EVFGK4OGZ828QyRDxHn9QCLcBGAs/s1600/19caefc3_iw2000.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ojukheon during winter. The namesake black bamboo forest is visible in the background.<br />(<a href="http://hanaleadertour.or.kr/_ver01/_bbs_iw2000/data/file/0502/19caefc3_iw2000.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Randomly, Gangneung also has the world's largest collection of Thomas Edison's gramophones. <b>Chamsori Gramophone &amp; Edison Science Museum</b> [참소리 축음기 &amp; 에디슨 과학 박물관], Gangwon-do Gangneung-si Gyeongpo-ro 393, holds more than 5,000 pieces of Edison's gramophones and other inventions, which amounts to more than one-third of all Edison's inventions.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Time to eat! You're by the ocean, so you must try the seafood. There are hundreds of seafood restaurants along the beach, but if you can get a seat, <b>Yeongjin Hoetjip</b> [영진횟집] (Gangwon-do Gangneung-si Yeongok-myeon Haean-ro 1427) is the place where you can get the sashimi of the delicious local black porgy (called <i>gamseongdom</i> [감성돔] in Korean.) Korea's eastern seaboard is also where all the squids in Korea come from. If you fly into Korea at night, you can see the incredibly bright lights of the squid boats in the East Sea all the way from the sky. Make sure to try some, either raw or cooked.<br /><br />Unless you grew up in an East Asian country, chances are you've never had freshly made tofu. Trust me on this--freshly made tofu is the greatest, most delicious thing in the world. So don't miss out your chance here: Gangneung is the home to Korea's best freshly made tofu, because a proper tofu requires seawater to make. For the best one in town, visit <b>Chodang Halmeoni Sundubu</b> [초당할머니순두부], Gangwon-do Gangneung-si Chodangsundubu-gil 77.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wnuoq95iQsY/Wn0dyux6pPI/AAAAAAAAB4M/xmNY4YemZk84JcVFkm_bjcTEAp0PE1FAgCLcBGAs/s1600/%25ED%2585%258C%25EB%259D%25BC%25EB%25A1%259C%25EC%2582%25AC%2B%25EC%25BB%25A4%25ED%2594%25BC%25EA%25B3%25B5%25EC%259E%25A5%2B%25283%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="1000" height="480" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wnuoq95iQsY/Wn0dyux6pPI/AAAAAAAAB4M/xmNY4YemZk84JcVFkm_bjcTEAp0PE1FAgCLcBGAs/s640/%25ED%2585%258C%25EB%259D%25BC%25EB%25A1%259C%25EC%2582%25AC%2B%25EC%25BB%25A4%25ED%2594%25BC%25EA%25B3%25B5%25EC%259E%25A5%2B%25283%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Terarosa Coffee House<br />(<a href="http://cfile29.uf.tistory.com/image/994C07335A0AEB73129994">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table>Either before or after a meal, do not miss the chance to have coffee in Gangneung. Gone are the days when the only decent coffee (I use the term loosely) in Korea came from Starbucks. Coffee in Korea today is legitimately very, very good, and Gangneung--the seaside resort where hipsters gather--is one of the cultural centers for coffee in Korea. Visit <b>Bohemian Roasters</b>, <b>Crema Costa</b>, or <b>Terarosa</b>; you can't go wrong with any one of them.<br /><br /><b><u>Elsewhere in Gangwon Province</u></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From Gangneung, you can drive up and down the coastline for stunningly beautiful scenery. Drive north from Gangneung to visit <b>Naksansa </b>[낙산사], the "Temple of the Falling Mountain." Built on the seaside cliff, the 52-feet tall statue of Haesu Gwaneumsang [해수관음상, the "Ocean Boddhisattva"] that looks out into the sea will be an image you will keep in your mind long after you leave Korea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Drive even further north to the <b>Goseong</b> [고성], the northernmost city of South Korea. Visit the beautiful <b>Hwajinpo</b> [화진포] beach, a quiet, isolated beach (a rarity in Korea!) that also has the former summer home of Kim Il-sung, the granddaddy of the current North Korean dictator. Hwajinpo briefly belonged to North Korea from 1948 to 1953, and the Kim family used the villa to vacation. It is now a museum.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Drive all the way north along the beach until you can't go anymore. There, you would run into the <b>Goseong Unification Observatory</b> [고성 통일전망대]. Although there are several Unification Observatories along the DMZ, the one near Goseong is the farthest north you can go in South Korea. At the Observatory, you can look over the DMZ and straight into North Korea, as well as the rail tracks and roads that used to carry millions of South Korean tourists into North Korea less than 20 years ago.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the way back west toward Seoul, you can try hitting the northern part of the Gangwon interior, straight north from PyeongChang. <b>Chuncheon</b> [춘천] is a gorgeous "City of Lakes," known for their <i>dakgalbi</i> [닭갈비, chicken barbecue] and <i>makguksu</i> [막국수, buckwheat noodles]. For dakgalbi, visit <b>Wonjo Sutbul Dakbulgogi</b> [원조숯불닭불고기] (Gangwon-do Chuncheon-si Nakwon-gil 28-4) or <b>Useong Dakgalbi</b> [우성닭갈비] (Gangwon-do Chuncheon-si Human-ro 81). For makguksu, visit <b>Yupori Makguksu</b> [유포리막국수] (Gangwon-do Chuncheon-si Sinbuk-eup Maekguk 2-gil 123) or <b>Nambu Makguksu</b> [남부 막국수] (Gangwon-do Chuncheon-si Chuncheon-ro 81-gil 16).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Straight north from Chuncheon is <b>Cheolwon </b>[철원], another significant location in the inter-Korean relations. Here, you can visit <b>The Second Tunnel</b> [제2땅굴], one of the numerous tunnels that North Korea dug underneath the DMZ through which to send spies and the military. There is also the old <b>Korea Workers' Party Headquarters</b> [조선노동당사], a stark shell of a building that used to house the local North Korean government.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hope you enjoyed the trip.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div></div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-49099090149716088362018-01-21T01:08:00.001-05:002018-01-21T01:08:38.780-05:00On North Korea: Thinking about Thinking<div style="text-align: justify;">Personally, I am sick of talking about North Korea. Just across the demilitarized zone, we have the world's 12th largest economy, a powerhouse of global pop culture, that is about to host the Winter Olympics. Why bother with North Korea?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But North Korea is in the news, which means I get a steady stream of North Korea-related questions on this blog. This is another occasion where I should remind you all that I am just a guy with a blog. All I have to go by is the news, which is available to you just as much as they are available to me. I have no special information to offer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What I can offer, however, is a framework of analysis; how to think about thinking, when it comes to thinking about North Korea. This alone can be valuable, because much of North Korea analysis involves no thinking, but only reflexes to the latest stimulus.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m9ObwU-bms8/WmQkLAouTMI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/dpPrp8SyaTEUHJqFjF2R0YIxsMLOwUgMQCLcBGAs/s1600/%25ED%2598%2584%25EC%2586%25A1%25EC%259B%2594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="681" data-original-width="1200" height="362" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m9ObwU-bms8/WmQkLAouTMI/AAAAAAAAB2Q/dpPrp8SyaTEUHJqFjF2R0YIxsMLOwUgMQCLcBGAs/s640/%25ED%2598%2584%25EC%2586%25A1%25EC%259B%2594.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On Jan. 21, 2018, North Korean advance delegation arrives at South Korea<br />(<a href="https://twitter.com/JChengWSJ/status/954891538118590464">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">For example, the latest coverage about North Korea is its participation in the Winter Olympics, the North Korean team marching under the same flag with the South Korean team during the opening ceremony, and so on. It should be obvious that all of this is inconsequential. The two Koreas have competed jointly in the world athletics off and on since 1991, when a single Korean team played in the World Table Tennis Championship in Japan. These joint appearances have never moved the needle on the inter-Korean relations in either direction, but people keep talking about them because hey, we have to keep talking about North Korea somehow.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Instead of a reflexive reaction, we can choose to think deeply. And deep thought requires a firm establishment of the first principles, in reference to which all the events on the ground and our policy choices are to be assessed. In my view, there are three fundamental questions that establish the first principles about North Korea. They are:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq">1. May the North Korean state continue to exist?<br />2. May the Kim Jong-un regime remain in power?<br />3. Is a war acceptable in the Korean Peninsula?</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">On the first pass, most people--including most North Korea analysts--would answer "no" to all three questions. Kim Jong-un regime is a murderous dictatorship; no one wants to appear as if she is supporting the regime. A war, which is likely to be a nuclear war, is horrifying beyond imagination, and no one wants to sound like a warmonger.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is also the case that most people are not honest with themselves.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In answering these three questions, we must be deeply and rigorously honest to ourselves. It is not enough to be in favor of humanitarian principles, the Korean reunification or peace in the Korean Peninsula in the abstract. Deep, rigorous honesty requires that your real answers to the three questions are actually reflected in the policy choices you make.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For example, many people might say the Kim regime is intolerable, but they also want the status quo to continue because they are afraid of the consequences if the North Korean state collapses and the Kim regime is toppled. In such a case, their answers to the first two questions are dishonest. The true answers are: "Yes, the North Korean state and the Kim regime should continue to exist, because we fear the alternative." To these people, the Kim regime is perfectly tolerable as long as the status quo is maintained.</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many hawks want isolation and sanctions until North Korea gives up its nukes. They, too, duly recite the pledges that the Kim regime must go, and that there can be no war in Korea. And they, too, are dishonest--because they have nothing to say about what ought to happen in the Korean Peninsula after North Korea denuclearizes. For them, the true answers are: "Yes, the North Korean state and the Kim regime may continue to exist as long as they give up nuclear weapons."&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The hawks are also usually unwilling to consider any peaceful engagement with North Korea, either directed to the North Korean regime (in the form of bilateral talks) or the North Korean people (in the form of cultural/economic exchanges or aids.) If you are adamant that the Kim regime must go and the North Korean state must cease to exist, but are unwilling to consider any peaceful engagement with North Korea at any level, your real answer to the third question is: "yes, a war may be acceptable in the Korean Peninsula if the Kim regime refuses to surrender"--knowing full well that the Kim regime will not surrender just because you really want it to.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The doves, wanting to avoid a war, usually argue that North Korea can be deterred from using its nuclear weapon. They, too, may offer pieties about the Kim regime's humanitarian abuses. But make no mistake, because their real answer to the first two questions are the same as the hawks: "North Korea and the Kim regime may continue to exist, as long as they do not start a nuclear war." Because really, have they got anything to say about North Korea other than its nuclear weapons?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My answers to the three questions are firm. No, the North Korean state cannot exist, because the division of the Korean Peninsula is a historical tragedy that must be rectified. No, the Kim regime cannot continue, because it is a murderous dictatorship. And no, there cannot be a war in the Korean Peninsula for any reason, because the consequences are too terrible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In my view, these answers make my policy choice clear. I need a course of action that makes the North Korean state disappear, the Kim regime out of power, while avoiding a war. This leads me to choose the original Sunshine Policy envisioned by Kim Dae-jung in his <a href="http://www.donaldkirk.com/files/Kim_Dae_Jung_bio_Encyclopedia_of_Human_Rights.pdf">Berlin Declaration</a>: an aggressive engagement policy designed to destabilize the North Korean state and the Kim regime while having zero tolerance toward military provocation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you have a better idea that gets rid of the North Korean state and the Kim regime while avoiding a war than the Sunshine Policy, please tell me, because I will be all ears. What you cannot do, however, is to be dishonest about your first principles. Do you want to maintain the status quo, because you think the cost of eliminating the Kim regime is too high? Then you are really saying the Kim regime should continue, regardless of the fact that it is a murderous dictatorship. Do you want no peaceful interaction with North Korea at all, while desiring the Kim regime to disappear? Then what you really want is a war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This framework is helpful because it keeps everyone honest. It makes you honest to yourself by allowing you to separate an actual policy goal versus the empty hopes and dreams that you will abandon just as soon as the going gets tough. It also reveals the true intentions of the pundits who bloviate about North Korea. It doesn't matter what lip service they give to high-minded principles; if they say nothing about how to make the North Korean state go away, how to make the Kim regime go away, and how to prevent a war from happening in the Korean Peninsula, they are making their first principles abundantly clear.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Again: I don't have a great answer for North Korea. But the truth is, neither do most people you see on television or read in the papers--or even most of the people who are actually in charge of formulating and implementing policies. All we can do is to think deeply with the information available to us, and talk to each other to exchange ideas. Clear thinking allows us to think better and have a more honest conversation, the best things we can do as we think about one of the most complex conundra of international affairs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i>&nbsp;askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-80744260258698136502018-01-03T20:38:00.000-05:002018-01-03T20:38:13.882-05:0050 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 1. Shin Jung-hyeon<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left;">[</span><a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html" style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot;,&quot;times&quot;,serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left;">Series Index</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left;">]</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><br />1</b><b>.&nbsp; <u>Shin Jung-hyeon [신중현]</u></b></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Years of Activity:</b>&nbsp;1959-present. (Last studio album in 2005.)</div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Discography:</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Note:&nbsp; Because Shin Jung-hyeon was active during the times when there was no real concept of an "album," his discography is an insane mess that includes the numerous bands for which Shin played only temporarily. The below discography only includes studio albums for solos and bands for which Shin Jung-hyeon was the leader.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Hickey Shin Guitar Melodies - Selection of Light Music [히키-申 기타 멜로듸: 경음악 선곡집] (1959)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The Add4 First Album (1964)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Add4: Shin Jung-hyeon Light Music Arrangement [Add4 - 신중현 경음악 편곡집] (1966)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Add4 - Fun Guitar Twist [Add4 - 즐거운 기타 트위스트] (1968)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Shin Jung-hyeon &amp; Questions [신중현과 퀘션스] (1970)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The Men - Saxophone's Temptations [The Men - 색소폰의 유혹] (1972)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Shin Jung-hyeon &amp; the Coins, the First Album [신중현과 엽전들 1집] (1974)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Shin Jung-hyeon &amp; Yup Juns, Vol. 2 (1974)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Shin Jung-hyeon &amp; Music Power, the First Album [신중현과 뮤직파워 1집] (1976)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Shin Jung Hyun (1980)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Three Travelers [세 나그네] (1983)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Shin Jung-hyeon [신중현] (1988)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Shin Jung-hyeon &amp; Music Power 2 [신중현과 뮤직파워 2] (1994)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Muwijayeon [무위자연] (1994)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Kim Satgat [김삿갓] (1997)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Body &amp; Feel (2002)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">City Crane [도시학] (2005)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The Landing [안착] (2005)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><u></u><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Representative Song:</b>&nbsp; Beauty [미인] from <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Shin Jung-hyeon &amp; the Coins, the First Album [신중현과 엽전들 1집] (1974)</span></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></div><div align="center" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a1lbIxyDo94" width="560"></iframe></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>미인</b><br /><b>Beauty</b></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">한 번 보고 두 번 보고 자꾸만 보고 싶네<br />See her once, see her twice, just want to see her more<br />아름다운 그 모습을 자꾸만 보고 싶네<br />Just want to keep seeing that beautiful sight<br />그 누구나 한 번 보면 자꾸만 보고 있네<br />Whoever looks just once can't take their eyes away<br />그 누구의 애인인가 정말로 궁금하네<br />Whose lover is she, everyone gets curious<br /><br />모두 사랑을 하네&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">나도 사랑을 하네</span><br />Everyone loves her;&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I love her too</span><br /><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">모두 사랑을 하네&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">나도 사랑을 하네</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Everyone loves her;&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I love her too</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">나도 몰래 그 여인을 자꾸만 보고 있네</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I keep on looking at her without realizing it</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">그 모두가 넋을 있고 자꾸만 보고 있네</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Everyone keeps looking as if in a trance</span></div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">그 누구나 한 번 보면 자꾸만 보고 있네</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Whoever looks just once can't take their eyes away</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">그 누구의 애인인가 정말로 궁금하네</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Whose lover is she, everyone gets curious</div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">모두 사랑을 하네&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">나도 사랑을 하네</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Everyone loves her;&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I love her too</span></div><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">모두 사랑을 하네&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">나도 사랑을 하네</span></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Everyone loves her;&nbsp;<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">I love her too</span></div></span><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 16px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></div></span></span><br /></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>In 15 words or less:</b>&nbsp; The Godfather of Korean pop music.</div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Why is this artist important?</b></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Here we are now, finally at the top of the mountain. I consider Seo Taiji to have created an entire generation of individuals in his mold. What could be more influential than that?<br /><br />How about coming up with the model of "musicianship" for the first time? Popular music existed in Korea before Shin Jung-hyeon. As early as the 1930s, Korea (even as a Japanese colony) had a healthy urban culture that featured recorded music and pop stars. But the pop stars of the time were hardly separable from, say, a circus act. Indeed, they often were a circus act, as the Korean pop singers of the early 20th century often performed as a part of a giant variety show (of the kind that is now almost exclusively available in casinos,) nestled somewhere within a sequence involving a movie, a skit, a dance number, a comedy routine and an animal act.<br /><br />This is the world in which Shin Jung-hyeon grew up. Orphaned during the Korean War, Shin grew up at a distant relative's house and took up guitar as a teenager. His first gigs--like nearly everyone's gigs in Korea in the 1950s--were with the USFK clubs, playing American music for the GIs stationed in Seoul. Fundamentally, those shows were not much different from the variety shows of the 1930s. Shin Jung-hyeon himself found popularity as a kind of a circus act, as he was known as the short guitarist who would deftly continue playing while sliding in and out between the legs of the taller bassist.<br /><br />But Shin Jung-hyeon rose above being an act, to become an artist. Not merely a source of entertainment, but an individual expressing his aesthetics through popular music. Shin Jung-hyeon is the first Korean singer-songwriter who organized his music into an "album," a thematically consistent collection of his original creation. And original it was! Shin Jung-hyeon's <i>Beauty</i> would go into the annals of the global rock music history, with its pentatonic sound based on Korean traditional music.<br /><br />As Korea's pop culture came into its own in the 1970s, Shin Jung-hyeon continued to play a critical role as a composer and producer for the greatest artists of K-pop history such as Pearl Sisters and <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.kr/2012/01/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists-22.html">Kim Chu-ja</a>. Yet a cruel twist of history cut off Shin Jung-hyeon's further flourishing. For refusing to write a song praising the Park Chung-hee dictatorship, Shin was charged with trumped-up allegations of drug use, and his songs were banned in 1975 and remained so until 1987. Banned from even from performing, Shin spent a stretch of time selling away his equipment piece by piece. It was not until the late 1990s that his legacy was rediscovered and re-evaluated, as music critics--also a new profession that had recently come of age--began to reflect on the giants who shaped the history of Korean pop music.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br /></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Interesting trivia:</b>&nbsp; Shin Jung-hyeon is the sixth artist in the world, and the first in Asia, to receive a personalized commemorative guitar from Fender.<br /><br /></div></div></div><div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i>&nbsp;askakorean@gmail.com.</div></div><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-67619975376582028202018-01-01T23:50:00.001-05:002018-01-01T23:50:13.029-05:00Happy New Year, and a Quick Look Back on 2017<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">Happy New Year!&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 14.04px;">Here is a day-late look back at the most popular AAK! posts of 2017, by the number of page views.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;"><b><u>Most Viewed Posts of 2017 (All-Time Posts)</u></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">1.&nbsp; The Irrational Downfall of Park Geun-hye [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-irrational-downfall-of-park-geun-hye.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">2.&nbsp; Counting in Sino-Korean [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2010/03/korean-language-series-sino-korean.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">3.&nbsp; Going to College in Korea [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2011/11/can-you-go-to-college-in-korea-take.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">4.&nbsp; Becoming a Doctor in Korea [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2015/03/so-how-do-you-become-doctor-in-korea-if.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px;"><div style="text-align: justify;">5.&nbsp; What Became of Korea's Royal Family? [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2011/05/what-became-of-koreas-royal-family.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14.04px;">The blog's most popular post ever, about the impeachment of Park Geun-hye written in late 2016, is still going strong. But beyond that, w</span>hoa! Not sure what happened, but suddenly the old articles about weight loss and dating Korean men have slipped off the top five. I really thought those would top the list as long as the blog shall live, but I suppose the blog is in fact getting old.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Most Viewed Posts of 2017 (Written in 2017)</u></b></div></b><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1.&nbsp; Korea's Alt-Right, and How to Fight the Ones at Home [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/10/koreas-alt-right-and-how-to-fight-ones.html">Link</a>]</div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">2.&nbsp; Discussing the Candidates for Korea's Presidential Election [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/04/korean-politics-viewers-guide-iii.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">3.&nbsp; K-pop is not a Genre [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/05/k-pop-is-not-genre.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">4.&nbsp; Annotated Opinion of the Constitutional Court Impeaching Park Geun-hye [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-impeachment-opinion-annotated.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">5.&nbsp; The Bigotry Against Korean Democracy [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-bigotry-against-korean-democracy.html">Link</a>]</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">2017 was a year, wasn't it? I never wanted to write too much about Korean politics because I always thought the topic was too much insider baseball, but here it is--four of the top five posts are about politics.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;">Thank you everyone for reading; I don't deserve it, but thank you anyway. Have a wonderful holiday season.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i>&nbsp;askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-77535636467337034302017-12-27T22:26:00.005-05:002017-12-28T16:35:43.458-05:0050 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 2. Seo Taiji<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left;">[</span><a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html" style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;">Series Index</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: &quot;georgia&quot; , &quot;times&quot; , serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left;">]</span><br /><b><br /></b><b>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;<u>Seo Taiji [서태지]</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Years of Activity:</b>&nbsp;1992-present. (Last studio album in 2014.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Discography (studio albums only):</b><br /><br /><u>As a member of Seo Taiji &amp; Boys [서태지와 아이들]</u><br />Seotaiji and Boys [서태지와 아이들] (1992)<br />Seotaiji and Boys II (1993)<br />Seotaiji and Boys III (1994)<br />Seotaiji and Boys IV (1995)<br /><br /><u>As a solo act</u><br />Seo Tai Ji (1998)<br />Seo Taiji 6th Album (2003)<br />Seo Taiji 7th Issue (2004)<br />Atomos (2009)<br />Quiet Night (2014)<br /><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Representative Song:</b>&nbsp; Classroom Idea [교실 이데아] from Seo Taiji and Boys III (1994)</div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I2bLUC-86jk" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>교실 이데아</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Classroom Idea</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">됐어 됐어 이제 됐어<br />That's it, that's it, now that's it<br />이제 그런 가르침은 됐어<br />That's it with this kind of education<br />그걸로 족해 족해 이제 족해<br />That's enough, enough, now it's enough<br />내 사투리로 내가 늘어 놓을래<br />Now I'm going to say in my own dialect<br /><br />매일 아침 일곱 시 삼십 분까지<br />Every morning by seven thirty<br />우릴 조그만 교실로 몰아넣고<br />They put us in a small classroom<br />전국 구백만의 아이들의 머리 속에<br />In the heads of the nine million children around the country<br />모두 똑같은 것만 집어 넣고 있어<br />All the same things are being crammed in<br />막힌 꽉 막힌 사방이 막힌 널<br />Blocked, totally blocked, blocked in all directions you are<br />그리곤 덥썩 그 모두를 먹어삼킨 이 시꺼먼 교실에서만<br />Then gulp! swallowing everyone is the black classroom<br />내 젊음을 보내기는 너무 아까워<br />My youth is utterly wasted in it<br /><br />좀 더 비싼 너로 만들어 주겠어<br />We'll make a more expensive version of you<br />니 옆에 앉아 있는 그 애보다 더<br />More expensive then the kid sitting next to you<br />하나씩 머리를 밟고 올라서도록 해<br />Take each step over other people's head<br />좀 더 잘난 네가 될 수가 있어<br />You can be a little better than you are now<br />왜 바꾸지 않고 마음을 조이며 젊은 날을 헤멜까<br />Why not change; why let your heart wither, wandering in your youth<br />왜 바꾸지 않고 남이 바꾸길 바라고만 있을까<br />Why not change; why only wait for someone else to change<br /><br />됐어 됐어 이제 됐어<br />That's it, that's it, now that's it<br />이제 그런 가르침은 됐어<br />That's it with this kind of education<br />그걸로 족해 족해 이제 족해<br />That's enough, enough, now it's enough<br />내 사투리로 내가 늘어 놓을래<br />Now I'm going to say in my own dialect<br /><br />국민학교에서 중학교로 들어가며<br />From elementary to middle school,<br />고등학교를 지나 우릴 포장센타로 넘겨<br />Through high school they send us to the packaging center<br />겉보기 좋은 널 만들기위해<br />To make you more presentable<br />우릴 대학이란 포장지로 멋지게 싸 버리지<br />They wrap us grandly with the wrapper called college<br />이젠 생각해봐 '대학'<br />Now think about it. College!<br />본 얼굴은 가린채 근엄한 척 할 시대가 지나버린 걸<br />The time to hide your true face, the time to pretend to be serious is over<br />좀 더 솔직해봐 넌 할 수 있어<br />Be more honest, you can do it<br /><br />좀 더 비싼 너로 만들어 주겠어<br />We'll make a more expensive version of you<br />니 옆에 앉아 있는 그 애보다 더<br />More expensive then the kid sitting next to you<br />하나씩 머리를 밟고 올라서도록 해<br />Take each step over other people's head<br />좀 더 잘난 네가 될 수가 있어<br />You can be a little better than you are now<br />왜 바꾸지 않고 마음을 조이며 젊은 날을 헤멜까<br />Why not change; why let your heart wither, wandering in your youth<br />왜 바꾸지 않고 남이 바꾸길 바라고만 있을까<br />Why not change; why only wait for someone else to change<br /><br />됐어 됐어 이제 됐어<br />That's it, that's it, now that's it<br />이제 그런 가르침은 됐어<br />That's it with this kind of education<br />그걸로 족해 족해 이제 족해<br />That's enough, enough, now it's enough<br />내 사투리로 내가 늘어 놓을래<br />Now I'm going to say in my own dialect</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>In 15 words or less:</b>&nbsp; Creator of modern Korean pop culture.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Why is this artist important?</b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Does Seo Taiji deserve to be the second most influential K-pop artist ever?<br /><br />Of course, Seo Taiji was and is a massive star. He is nicknamed the "Cultural President." The news of his divorce from the wife that he managed to hide 14 years made the front page--the actual front page, not the front page of the entertainment section--of every newspaper in Korea. But in terms of stardom, Jo Yong-pil was bigger. In fact, one could make a solid argument that even <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2013/03/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists-15.html">Kim Geon-mo</a>, a contemporary of Seo Taiji, was bigger. One can argue Seo Taiji and Boys was the early example of a successful boy band, but then again, not really--Sobangcha [소방차] was the first K-pop boy band from 1987, and they were very successful at their peak.<br /><br />Was Seo Taiji the most innovative with music? Maybe--he did introduce a lot of new genres to Korean pop music. He was the first rapper that found popular success. Seo Taiji's rap-dance format, with a rap followed by chorus, is still the prevalent mode of K-pop idol music. His use of taepyeongso [태평소], a Korean traditional trumpet, was groundbreaking. But arguably, Sanullim was more innovative in terms of creating something no one has heard before. For all his musical talents, Seo Taiji was plagued with allegations of plagiarizing US artists like Milli Vanilli, Cypress Hill or Korn.<br /><br />But Seo Taiji did something more than being a star, or even being a musician. Seo Taiji deserves this placement because he singlehandedly created a new culture, populated with a new kind of people. The "New Generation" [신세대] was on the rise in Korea in the 1990s, and Seo Taiji was their champion. When the government censored his song, he rebelled until the government repealed the censorship law. When he saw most of Seo Taiji and Boys' earnings going to the production company, he quit the company and started his own, which led to fairer copyright protection for artists. Rather than offering himself to be consumed by the gossipy media, Seo Taiji tightly controlled the presentation of his image, disappearing for years between albums.<br /><br />Seo Taiji did not just sing and play music. He showed young Koreans how to live as an individual, how to think independently, how to be a master of his own destiny. There have been K-pop bigger stars than Seo Taiji. There have been better musicians. But no one shaped an entire generation and beyond quite like Seo Taiji did.<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Interesting trivia:</b>&nbsp; For their fourth album, Seo Taiji and Boys appeared in <a href="http://mblogthumb4.phinf.naver.net/20150818_167/dreamwork21_1439840151090MgjsC_JPEG/%BC%AD%C5%C2%C1%F612.jpg?type=w2">snowboarding clothes</a>, which were virtually unseen in Korea at the time. Seo Taiji is usually credited with introducing the snowboarding culture to Korea for the first time.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i>&nbsp;askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-41979504846826744632017-12-23T22:58:00.000-05:002017-12-27T20:42:21.122-05:0050 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 3. Jo Yong-pil<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left;">[</span><a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html" style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left; text-decoration-line: none;">Series Index</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 14.04px; text-align: left;">]</span><br /><b><br /></b><b>3.&nbsp;&nbsp;<u>Jo Yong-pil [조용필]</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Years of Activity:</b>&nbsp;1972-present. (Last studio album in 2013.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Discography (studio albums only):</b><br /><br />Jo Yong-pil Stereo Hit Album [조용필 스테레오 힛트 앨범] (1972)<br />Beloved [님이여] (1976)<br />Jo Yong-pil [조용필] (1980)<br />Jo Yong-pil Representative Music Collection [조용필 대표곡 모음] (1980)<br />Jo Yong-pil Vol. 2 [조용필 Vol. 2] (1980)<br />Jo Yong-pil Third Album [조용필 제3집] (1981)<br />Jo Yong-pil [조용필] (1982)<br />Jo Yong-pil 5 [조용필 5] (1983)<br />Jo Yong-pil Sixth Album [조용필 6집] (1984)<br />Jo Yong-pil Seventh Album [조용필 7집] (1985)<br />Jo Yong-pil Vol. 8 [조용필 Vol. 8] (1985)<br />'87 Love and Life and I! ['87 사랑과 인생과 나!] (1987)<br />Jo Yong-pil Tenth Album Part I [조용필 제10집 Part I] (1988)<br />Jo Yong-pil Tenth Album Part II [조용필 제10집 Part II] (1989)<br />'90-Vol. 1 Sailing Sound (1990)<br />Cho Yong Pil 14 (1992)<br />Cho Yong Pil 15 (1994)<br />Eternally Cho Yong Pil 16 (1997)<br />Ambition (1998)<br />Over the Rainbow (2003)<br />Hello (2013)<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Representative Song:</b>&nbsp; Woman Outside the Window [창밖의 여자] from Jo Yong-pil (1980)</div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CGcwEB5Z-Kw" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>창밖의 여자</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Woman Outside the Window</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">창가에 서면 눈물처럼 떠오르는 그대의 흰 손<br />When I stand by the window, your white hand wells up like tears<br />돌아서서 눈 감으면 강물이어라<br />Turn around and close my eyes, it is a river<br />한 줄기 바람 되어 거리에 서면<br />When I turn myself into a breeze of wind and stand on the streets<br />그대는 가로등 되어 내 곁에 머무네<br />You turn into a street light and stay by my side<br /><br />누가 사랑을 아름답다 했는가<br />Who said love was beautiful<br />누가 사랑을 아름답다 했는가<br />Who said love was beautiful<br />차라리 차라리 그대의 흰 손으로 나를 잠들게 하라<br />I'd rather, I'd rather have your white hand put me to sleep</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>In 15 words or less:</b>&nbsp; The King.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Why is this artist important?</b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In many ways, Jo Yong-pil is the bridge that connects K-pop of the 1960s into the golden era of the 1990s. Jo is in the last generation of the USFK club musicians, having started his music career as a 19-year-old guitarist for the clubs in 1969. Yet rather than looking back to the 1960s, Jo Yong-pil was a modernizing force in every aspect of music he touched. His debut hit <i>Come Back to the Busan Port</i> [돌아와요 부산항에] from 1972 opened a new era in trot, setting the familiar pentatonic scale onto the rock'n roll-like eight-track beat. His 1985 hit <i>Void</i> [허공] is the first pop song in K-pop history that had a music video. Jo Yong-pil is the only artist in Korean pop music history to have a chart-topping hit in the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2010s, spanning the eras of LP, cassette tape, CD and online streaming.<br /><br />Jo Yong-pil's strength is his versatility. A true singer-songwriter, Jo composed and arranged nearly every one of his hits. (Reportedly, Jo Yong-pil composed <i>Woman Outside the Window</i> in 15 minutes.) Although he debuted as a trot singer, soon he explored rock'n roll, ballad, blues, Korean traditional music, opera and electronica--and made all of them a hit.<br /><br />But all of this is merely a background to this undeniable fact of his influence: Jo Yong-pil was the greatest pop star in Korean pop music history. For a whole decade in the 1980s, Jo Yong-pil was practically the only show in Korean pop music. When he held a concert, the Seoul Metro added trains and ran them two more hours into the night. To be sure, at least some of his dominance owes to the fact that the Park Chung-hee dictatorship sent many of the most promising pop musicians to prison for trumped-up drug charges, creating a vacuum in competition. But this remains true: no one in K-pop history can match his utter dominance in popularity. No musician in Korean pop music, however cocky and self-assured, dared to challenge Jo Yong-pil's mantle as&nbsp;<i>gawang</i>&nbsp;[가왕]: the "king of music."<br /><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Interesting trivia:</b>&nbsp; Incredibly for such an accomplished musician, Jo Yong-pil did not have the copyright to many of his greatest hits. Based on the pre-modern practice in K-pop that lingered into the early 90s, Jo's record company owned the copyrights. It took a lengthy legal battle and negotiations for Jo Yong-pil to regain the copyrights.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i>&nbsp;askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-1943560544799225162017-12-22T22:43:00.000-05:002017-12-22T22:43:05.715-05:0050 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 4. Lee Mi-ja[<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html">Series Index</a>]<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Here we are: Tier 1. The four greatest. The Mount Rushmore of Korean pop music history. For this section, there is no second guesses about whether they should be ranked higher or lower. Their names are now etched in greatness; the precise ranking no longer matters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We enter the Tier with an old time legend.</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;<u>Lee Mi-ja [이미자]</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Years of Activity:</b>&nbsp;1959-present. (Last studio album in 1989.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Discography:</b><br />[Note: because Lee Mi-ja was active during the time when copyright was virtually unknown in Korea, her discography is an insane mess of unauthorized compilations, re-releases and double albums with other artists. Here, I only included albums in which Lee was the only artist.]<br /><br />Jeongdongdaegam Original Soundtrack [영화주제가 정동대감] (1965)<br />Lee Mi-ja Masterpiece Second [이미자 걸작 2집] (1965)<br />Lee Mi-ja Homecoming Special [이미자 귀국특집] (1965)<br />Lee Mi-ja Stereo Hit Songs Third [이미자 스테레오 힛트송 3집] (1967)<br />Lee Mi-ja, Composed by Go Bong-san [이미자 - 고봉산 작곡집] (1968)<br />Stereo Hit Songs Second, Movie Soundtracks by Lee Mi-ja [스테레오 힛트쏭 2집: 영화주제가 by 이미자] (1968)<br />Lee Mi-ja Stereo Hit Fifth [이미자 스테레오 힛트 5집] (1968)<br />Lee Mi-ja Hit Major Selections Sixth [이미자 힛트주제가선 6집] (1968)<br />Lee Mi-ja, Composed by Park Chun-seok [이미자 - 박춘석 작곡집] (1969)<br />Latest Hit Selections Tenth by Lee Mi-ja [최신 히트선곡 제10집 by 이미자] (1970)<br />Lee Mi-ja Solo Eleventh [이미자 독집 제11집] (1970)<br />Lee Mi-ja, Composed by Park Chun-seok [이미자 - 박춘석 작곡집] (1970)<br />Lee Mi-ja Stereo Solo Eighth [이미자 스테레오 독집 제8집] (1970)<br />Lady Ihwa [이화부인] (1970)<br />Lee Mi-ja Stereo Hit Selections Twelveth [이미자 스테레오 히트선곡 제12집] (1970)<br />Lee Mi-ja Stereo Solo [이미자 스테레오 독집] (1971)<br />Lee Mi-ja Stereo Hit Songs First [이미자 스테레오 힛트송 제1집] (1972)<br />'89 Lee Mi-ja ['89 이미자] (1989)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Representative Song:</b>&nbsp; Lady Camellia [동백아가씨] from 1964. (Recorded in Lee Mi-ja Stereo Hit Songs First [이미자 스테레오 힛트송 제1집] (1972))</div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b2k_AviV-c4" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>동백아가씨</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Lady Camellia</b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">헤일 수 없이 수많은 밤을 </div><div style="text-align: center;">The numerous nights, impossible to be counted</div><div style="text-align: center;">내 가슴 도려내는 아픔에 겨워 </div><div style="text-align: center;">Suffering through the pain that cuts through the heart</div><div style="text-align: center;">얼마나 울었던가 동백아가씨 </div><div style="text-align: center;">Lady Camellia, how she has cried</div><div style="text-align: center;">그리움에 지쳐서 울다 지쳐서 </div><div style="text-align: center;">Tired from longing, tired from crying</div><div style="text-align: center;">꽃잎은 빨갛게 멍이 들었오 </div><div style="text-align: center;">The petal bruised in red</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">동백꽃잎에 새겨진 사연 </div><div style="text-align: center;">The story etched onto the camellia petals</div><div style="text-align: center;">말못할 그 사연을 가슴에 안고 </div><div style="text-align: center;">Holding in the heart the tale that cannot be told</div><div style="text-align: center;">오늘도 기다리는 동백아가씨 </div><div style="text-align: center;">Lady Camellia, she is still waiting today</div><div style="text-align: center;">가신 님은 그 언제 그 어느날에 </div><div style="text-align: center;">When will, on what day will the departed beloved</div><div style="text-align: center;">외로운 동백꽃 찾아 오려나 </div><div style="text-align: center;">Would come visit the lonely camellia flower</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>In 15 words or less:</b>&nbsp; The greatest trot singer in K-pop history.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Why is this artist important?</b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">I know what you're thinking, but stay with me here. You have to first understand how important of a genre trot has been in the history of Korean pop music--then you will understand how Lee Mi-ja, the greatest name in Korean trot history, belongs to the K-pop Mount Rushmore.<br /><br />Trot is the only genre in the 80-year history of Korean pop music that completed the entire life cycle of a musical genre: birth - peak - decline - modern revival - elevation to the classics. Originating in the 1930s, trot was the very first pop music of Korea, and for decades, the only pop music of Korea. In fact, the word <i>yuhaengga</i>--literally, "popular music"--in the 1930s exclusively meant trot songs.<br /><br />Trot was dominant until the late 1960s, when American pop music began entering the Korean pop music scene. But improbably, trot kept coming back each time by reinventing itself, incorporating elements from the new wave. Even today, as trot as a standalone genre is unmistakably fading out of the K-pop mainstream, trot is leaving its musical DNA into the latest generation of Korean pop music. For example, listen to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUrUPzLm5SI">I Love You by 2NE1</a>. Take away the pretty faces and the modern music video, and it's a trot song with a faster beat. Trot is an indispensable part of the history of Korean pop music, and its influence today is everywhere.<br /><br />So of course, the greatest figure in Korean trot history must join the top tier. And there is little dispute who is the greatest. Lee Mi-ja has been a towering figure for three decades, singing more than 2,000 songs during her career. (The precise number is 2,070, a record in Korean pop music.) She is the first female Korean singer to sell more than 10 million copies of her album.<br /><br />Yet Lee's time was hardly when trot was the only game in town. The end of Korean War meat a huge number of US soldiers stationed in Seoul, which meant a steady stream of the latest American pop music. Suddenly, trot was old and busted, backwards music for the backwards times.<br /><br />Lee Mi-ja reversed the trend by modernizing trot. Compared to the trot singers of the previous decades, Lee sings clearly and straightforwardly, eschewing the tremor that characterized the earlier singers. Yet she projected a strictly conservative and traditional image of a woman, preferring hanbok and singing about a female figure consigned to a helpless lot. It is not quite the wokeness we would have liked in the present day, but her combination of progressive singing and traditional image resonated strongly with the Koreans of the 1960s and 70s, who were propelling their country into first world status at a breakneck pace. This would be the template for all female trot singers who would follow her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Interesting trivia:</b>&nbsp; Lee Mi-ja's popularity transcended the DMZ, as she is one of the few South Korean pop singers who had a solo concert in Pyongyang. She held a concert there in 2002 after having been invited by North Korea.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i>&nbsp;askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-6609457561750414432017-12-21T22:23:00.001-05:002017-12-22T21:01:12.047-05:0050 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 5. Sanullim [<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html">Series Index</a>]<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>5.&nbsp; <u>Sanullim [산울림]</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Years of Activity:</b> 1977-2008 (last regular album in 1997)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Discography (Studio Albums Only)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Collection of Sanullim's New Songs<br />Sanullim Second Album [산울림 2집] (1978)<br />Sanullim Third Album [산울림 3집] (1978)<br />Sanullim Fourth Album [산울림 4집] (1979)<br />Sanullim Fifth Album [산울림 5집] (1979)<br />Sanullim Sixth Album [산울림 6집] (1980)<br />Sanullim Seventh Album [산울림 7집] (1981)<br /><div>Sanullim Eighth Album [산울림 8집] (1982)</div><div>Sanullim Ninth Album [산울림 9집] (1983)</div><div>Sanullim Tenth Album [산울림 10집] (1984)</div><div>Sanullim Eleventh Album [산울림 11집] (1986)<br />Sanullim Twelveth Album [산울림 12집] (1991)<br />Rainbow [무지개] (1997)</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Representative Song:</b>&nbsp; What Already [아니 벌써], from Collection of Sanullim's New Songs</div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fDhCUZ5IW1Y" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>아니 벌써</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>What Already</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">아니 벌써 해가 솟았나&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">What already, did the sun rise</div><div style="text-align: center;">창문 밖이 환하게 밝았네</div><div style="text-align: center;">It's bright outside the window</div><div style="text-align: center;">가벼운 아침 발걸음&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">The light morning steps</div><div style="text-align: center;">모두 함께 콧노래 부르며</div><div style="text-align: center;">Everyone humming along</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">밝은 날을 기다리는 부푼 마음 가슴에 가득</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hearts filled with hopes for bright days</div><div style="text-align: center;">이리저리 지나치는 정다운 눈길 거리에 찼네</div><div style="text-align: center;">Streets full of friendly glances exchanged</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">아니 벌써 밤이 깊었나&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">What already, did the night get old</div><div style="text-align: center;">정말 시간 가는줄 몰랐네</div><div style="text-align: center;">Really, where does the time go</div><div style="text-align: center;">해 저문 거릴 비추는&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">Lighting the sundown streets</div><div style="text-align: center;">가로등 하얗게 피었네</div><div style="text-align: center;">The street lights are blooming white</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">밝은 날을 기다리는 부푼 마음 가슴에 가득</div><div style="text-align: center;">Hearts filled with hopes for bright days</div><div style="text-align: center;">이리저리 지나치는 정다운 눈길 거리에 찼네</div><div style="text-align: center;">Streets full of friendly glances exchanged</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>In 15 words or less:</b>&nbsp; The progenitor of Korean rock'n roll.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Maybe they should have been ranked higher because...</b>&nbsp; Members of Sanullim produced so many younger artists who would end up having hugely influential careers.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Maybe they should have been ranked lower because...</b>&nbsp; Did Sanullim have any influence outside of music, such as choreography, fashion or video?</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Why is this artist important?</b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Sanullim is perhaps the most unique band in Korean pop music history. For most important artists in K-pop history, their musical heritage is traceable to an earlier example. Not so with Sanullim: their music is <i>sui generis</i>. Although Sanullim sounds broadly familiar, there is no clear precedent for their music even in the US-UK pop music. It is as if they absorbed the ambient music that floated in Korea's atmosphere in the 1970s and willed themselves into an entirely new existence.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sanullim might be Korea's first garage band, as it was born out of three talented brothers--Kim Chang-wan [김창완], Kim Chang-hun [김창훈] and Kim Chang-ik [김창익]--noodling around with instruments in their home. They never played other people's music. The three brothers composed their own music and played their own. Even before their professional debut, Sanullim had a large library of their own songs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sanullim's debut was accidental, as they never intended to be professional musicians. Kim Chang-hun was originally a member of the band Sand Pebbles, for which he composed the song <i>What do I do</i> [나 어떡해]. Kim Chang-hun then left Sand Pebbles to join the band made up of his two brothers, which at the time was called Mui [무이], to participate in the first College Music Festival of 1977. In the competition, Mui came in first, and Sand Pebbles, playing <i>What do I do</i>, came in second. Three weeks later, the three brothers--now forming a band called Sanullim, the "Mountain Vibrations"--cut their first album and instantly became stars.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The poetry of Sanullim's lyrics is just as original as their music. The lyrics appear to be about trivialities, but upon a second look, they always leave a lingering impression. Kim Chang-wan recalls that Sanullim always tried to be objective and self-distancing. Kim Chang-wan noted in an interview: "As we composed, we thought: 'how can a person who is sad because he lost his love could be singing about anything? He would be too busy crying!' . . . Some might listen to Sanullim and think, 'how do they put so much emotion into such trivialities?' But we would think, 'how could you sing at all if you really lost your love?'"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Interesting trivia:</b>&nbsp; In addition to their regular albums, Sanullim composed three albums of children's songs, which are now considered a classic. Kim Chang-wan considers those albums his personal favorite, putting them above any of Sanullim's studio albums.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-82231821468042121642017-12-19T22:44:00.000-05:002017-12-19T22:57:47.882-05:0050 Most Influential K-Pop Artists: 6. H.O.T.[<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html">Series Index</a>]<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">We are baaaaack. After more than two years since the last entry, the "50 Most Influential" list returns! To atone for the long absence, TK will make an unprecedented promise: from today, one entry every day until we reach the top. It's a Christmas Miracle!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To recap where we are: we have six artists remaining in the top 50 list. Two more artists will round out Tier 2, the best artists of an era. Then I present Tier 1, the Mount Rushmore, the four most influential figures in the history of Korean pop music whose names must be etched in greatness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Without further ado, here is our number 6.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>6.&nbsp; <u>H.O.T.</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />(Pronounced as three letters, not the word "hot.")<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Years of Activity:</b> 1996 - 2001</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Discography (Studio Albums Only)</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We Hate All Kinds of Violence (1996)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Wolf and Sheep (1997)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Resurrection (1998)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I Yah! (1999)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">They are Nothing Different with Us (2000)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Representative Song:</b> Candy, from We Hate All Kinds of Violence (1996)</div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/H8NxbCtibzs" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Candy</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Song]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">사실은 오늘 너와의 만남을 정리하고 싶어</div><div style="text-align: center;">Actually I want to finish things with you today</div><div style="text-align: center;">널 만날 거야 이런 날 이해해</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'll come face to face; please understand</div><div style="text-align: center;">어렵게 맘 정한 거라 네게 말할거지만</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'd tell you it was a hard decision</div><div style="text-align: center;">사실 오늘 아침에 그냥 나 생각한 거야</div><div style="text-align: center;">But actually I just thought of it this morning</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">햇살에 일어나 보니 너무나 눈부셔</div><div style="text-align: center;">Waking up to the sunshine it was too bright</div><div style="text-align: center;">모든 게 다 변한 거야 널 향한 마음도</div><div style="text-align: center;">Everything changed totally, including my heart toward you</div><div style="text-align: center;">그렇지만 널 사랑 않는 게 아냐</div><div style="text-align: center;">But it doesn't mean I don't love you</div><div style="text-align: center;">이제는 나를 변화시킬 테니까</div><div style="text-align: center;">I will change myself now</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Rap]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">너 몰래몰래몰래 다른 여자들과 비교 비교했지</div><div style="text-align: center;">Behind your back I compared you to other girls</div><div style="text-align: center;">자꾸만 깨어지는 환상 속에&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">Inside the fantasies broken down repeatedly</div><div style="text-align: center;">혼자서 울고 있는 초라하게 갇혀버린 나를 보았어</div><div style="text-align: center;">I saw myself, locked up pathetically and crying alone</div><div style="text-align: center;">널 떠날 거야 음 널 떠날 거야 음</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm going to leave you, um I'm going to leave you, um</div><div style="text-align: center;">하지만 아직까지 사랑하는 걸</div><div style="text-align: center;">But I still love you to this moment</div><div style="text-align: center;">그래 그렇지만 내 맘 속에 너를 잊어갈 거야</div><div style="text-align: center;">Right, but I will begin forgetting you in my heart</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Song]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">머리 위로 비친 내 하늘 바라다보며</div><div style="text-align: center;">Looking up to my sky above my head</div><div style="text-align: center;">널 향한 마음을 이제는 굳혔지만</div><div style="text-align: center;">I hardened my heart toward you, but</div><div style="text-align: center;">웬일인지 네게 더 다가갈수록</div><div style="text-align: center;">Somehow as I got closer to you</div><div style="text-align: center;">우린 같은 하늘 아래 서 있었지</div><div style="text-align: center;">We were standing under the same sky</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">단지 널 사랑해 이렇게 말했지</div><div style="text-align: center;">I love you, that's the only thing I said</div><div style="text-align: center;">이제껏 준비했던 많은 말을 뒤로 한 채</div><div style="text-align: center;">Setting aside all the many words I prepared</div><div style="text-align: center;">언제나 니 옆에 있을게 이렇게 약속을 하겠어</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'll always be by your side, that's how I'd promise&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">저 하늘을 바라다보며</div><div style="text-align: center;">Looking up to the sky</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Rap]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">내게 하늘이 열려 있어 그래 그래 너는 내 앞에서 있고</div><div style="text-align: center;">The sky is open to me; that's right, and you are in front of me</div><div style="text-align: center;">그래 다른 연인들은 키스를 해 하지만 항상 나는 너의 뒤에 있어야만 해</div><div style="text-align: center;">Yeah other lovers kiss, but I must always stand behind you</div><div style="text-align: center;">이제 그만해 음 나도 남잔데 음 내 마음 너도 알고 있는걸 알아</div><div style="text-align: center;">Stop with it, um I'm a man too, um I know you know my heart too</div><div style="text-align: center;">그래 이제 나도 지쳐서 하늘만 바라볼 수 밖에</div><div style="text-align: center;">That's right, I'm so tired I can only look up to the sky</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">[Song]</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">햇살에 일어나 보니 너무나 눈부셔</div><div style="text-align: center;">Waking up to the sunshine it was too bright</div><div style="text-align: center;">모든 게 다 변한 거야 널 향한 마음도</div><div style="text-align: center;">Everything changed totally, including my heart toward you</div><div style="text-align: center;">그렇지만 널 사랑 않는 게 아냐</div><div style="text-align: center;">But it doesn't mean I don't love you</div><div style="text-align: center;">이제는 나를 변화시킬 테니까</div><div style="text-align: center;">I will change myself now</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">머리 위로 비친 내 하늘 바라다보며</div><div style="text-align: center;">Looking up to my sky above my head</div><div style="text-align: center;">널 향한 마음을 이제는 굳혔지만</div><div style="text-align: center;">I hardened my heart toward you, but</div><div style="text-align: center;">웬일인지 네게 더 다가갈수록</div><div style="text-align: center;">Somehow as I got closer to you</div><div style="text-align: center;">우린 같은 하늘 아래 서 있었지</div><div style="text-align: center;">We were standing under the same sky</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">단지 널 사랑해 이렇게 말했지</div><div style="text-align: center;">I love you, that's the only thing I said</div><div style="text-align: center;">이제껏 준비했던 많은 말을 뒤로 한 채</div><div style="text-align: center;">Setting aside all the many words I prepared</div><div style="text-align: center;">언제나 니 옆에 있을게 이렇게 약속을 하겠어</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'll always be by your side, that's how I'd promise&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">저 하늘을 바라다보며</div><div style="text-align: center;">Looking up to the sky</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">한 번 더 한 번 더 말했지</div><div style="text-align: center;">Once again, once again I said</div><div style="text-align: center;">이제껏 준비했던 많은 말을 뒤로 한 채</div><div style="text-align: center;">Setting aside all the many words I prepared</div><div style="text-align: center;">언제나 니 옆에 있을게&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'll always be by your side</div><div style="text-align: center;">다신 너 혼자 아냐 너의 곁엔 내가 있잖아</div><div style="text-align: center;">You are never alone again; I am on your side</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>In 15 words or less:</b>&nbsp; The fountainhead of Korean idol pop.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Maybe they should have been ranked higher because...</b>&nbsp; Idol pop is what the world knows about Korean pop music. H.O.T. is the starting point of all K-pop idols.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Maybe they should have been ranked lower because...</b>&nbsp; Is any part of their influence about music, or about anything they themselves intended to create?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Why is this artist important?</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Like it or not--and in my case, a strong emphasis on <b><i>not</i></b>--idol pop is the K-pop to which the international audience mostly listens. As much as I wished it otherwise, you probably are not be reading this post because you are a fan of, say, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_aYEiNUqOk">Lee Seung-yeol</a> [이승열]. You are reading this because you like BTS and Twice, or DBSK or Shinhwa if you're slightly older. And it is H.O.T. that sits at the peak of the mountain called Korean idol pop music.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">H.O.T. is the first idol group produced by SM Entertainment, which is now a juggernaut in K-pop industry. One must not oversell what SM Entertainment did; K-pop existed before them, and so did pop musicians who were groomed from very young age and supplied with music and choreography. (Kim Jeong-mi [김정미], who debuted in 1971 at age 18, is an early example.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But one shouldn't undersell either, because H.O.T. is the rightful starting point of all Korean idol pop groups. All the careful engineering of music, choreography, visual presentation--it all began with them. Looking at the idol group that was formed more than two decades ago, it is astonishing how little the current-day Korean idol groups deviate from SM Entertainment's original template. Musically, H.O.T.'s five members took up roles of a main vocal, sub-vocal, rapper--the same musical roles present throughout today's idol groups. Also setting the trend that would last the next several decades, each of H.O.T.'s members was assigned a "concept"--for example, a "tough guy leader," "cute guy," "maknae," etc. Although such concept-assignment originates from U.S. boy bands of the 1980s and 90s, SM Entertainment took the idea to a new level, giving each member numbers and colors of their own around which their fan club may organize.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Speaking of fans, H.O.T. had perhaps the most dedicated fans in K-pop history, whose level of crazy would be matched with only one other fandom, belonging to Seo Taiji. Just as much as H.O.T. defined how a K-pop idol is to be, H.O.T.'s fan club defined how K-pop fans behave. H.O.T. fans were the ones who popularized color coordination (white is supposed to H.O.T.'s color,) signs, chanting and mass-singing at concerts. Korea's Ministry of Education had to issue guidance to the schools to prevent their students from cutting classes when H.O.T. held a concert.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">H.O.T. did not meet a good end. It is unclear whether three of H.O.T.'s "lesser" members (Jang U-hyeok [장우혁], Lee Jae-won [이재원] and Tony An) quit or were kicked out, but it was clear that their departure from H.O.T. was acrimonious. Jang, Lee and An formed a separate group called "JTL," which failed in a whimper. After H.O.T. disbanded, Moon Hee-jun [문희준] tried to re-invent himself as a rock musician, but only ended up as arguably the most ridiculed celebrity in the history of Korean pop culture. Kang Ta managed to salvage his dignity, but not much more, as he never re-entered the limelight in Korea; the final stages of his career were almost exclusively in China. Yet H.O.T. continues to cast a long shadow, as one would be hard-pressed to think of a K-pop idol group that meaningfully strays from their blueprint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Interesting trivia:</b>&nbsp; Actor <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Won_Bin">Won Bin</a>&nbsp;[원빈], star of The Man from Nowhere [아저씨], auditioned to join H.O.T. and failed to make the cut.</div><br /><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-21191988279155958932017-10-28T21:00:00.003-04:002017-10-28T21:00:52.697-04:00Best K-Pop Idol Songs of 2007-2017, and an Announcement<div style="text-align: justify;">Yes, I know I've been really bad with my list of <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html">50 Most Influential K-pop Artists</a>. What began as a result of a drunken rager at a <i>noraebang</i> in 2010 has grown into one of the most frequently cited sources for Korean pop music history, except seven years later, I still have six more artists to go. As an apology, I give you something awesome.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cpLwIySh6lE" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />It is the 120 best K-pop idol songs from the last ten years, selected by music critic Youngdae Kim. Kim is a man who knows what he's talking about. He was the moderator for the online group that first introduced hip hop to Korea in the early 1990s, and he also wrote the <a href="https://www.kyobobook.co.kr/product/detailViewKor.laf?&amp;mallGb=KOR&amp;ejkGb=KOR&amp;barcode=9788946039087&amp;orderClick=LBB&amp;Kc=SETRETAgendasearch">defining book</a> on the history of Korean hip hop. (Here is <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2015/02/whats-real-in-korean-hip-hop-historical.html">my post on Korean hip hop</a> that borrows his analysis.) The video is in four parts, and I provided the English subtitles for Parts 3 and 4.<br /><br />And now, an announcement! TK is very excited to announce that he's been working with Youngdae Kim for the past year to write a book on K-pop history. Although not exactly the same, the book will be an expanded version of this blog's 50 Most Influential K-pop Artists series, but with Kim's more expert insight. The manuscript is progressing smoothly, and we are shooting for the book to be ready by late next year.<br /><br />Hopefully this will make up for the fact that I've been slow with the "50 Most Influential" list. In the meantime, keep an eye out for more collaboration projects like this one.<br /><br /><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-24305717331533636642017-10-23T00:10:00.000-04:002017-10-24T13:49:06.094-04:00Korea's Alt-Right, and How to Fight the Ones at Home<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Dear Korean,</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>I was shocked by <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/a65c0c2e-790b-11e7-90c0-90a9d1bc9691">this piece of news</a>, and I still have a hard time getting my head around why it wasn't bigger news worldwide. Can you explain?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Laszlo</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You might think a country that deposed a president who took directions from a shaman’s daughter has seen just about everything there is to see. But as the new administration is digging through the confidential files of the conservative Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak administrations, the scandal that is emerging may be much more jaw-dropping.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>I.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yimeUsoWVck/We1j8UNs8_I/AAAAAAAABz8/2QjSN-pBhAM8m43Dz27bUqNC1O3fCn1RgCLcBGAs/s1600/67u6y3j4br2011228-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yimeUsoWVck/We1j8UNs8_I/AAAAAAAABz8/2QjSN-pBhAM8m43Dz27bUqNC1O3fCn1RgCLcBGAs/s640/67u6y3j4br2011228-4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside Korea's National Assembly<br />(<a href="http://tour.ydp.go.kr/Upload/67u6y3j4br2011228-4.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As long as South Korea existed, its politics had a division of the right-wing and the left-wing. By the early 2000s, however, the right-wing in South Korea seemed like old news, in a literal sense. Much of its subscribers were old people whose memories of the Korean War, communist terror and desperate hunger dominated their political decisions. As they did not grow up with democracy, they worshiped South Korea’s military dictators—foremost of whom was Park Chung-hee, who ruled for nearly two decades from the 1960s to 70s—as they would a king. In this sense, they could not possibly called “conservatives,” since the term, in its strictest interpretation, presumes a liberal democratic system. “Fascists” would be the more apt description. Korea’s right-wing was contemptuous of democracy, and favored dictatorship. They favored jailing “communists,” a catch-all stand-in term for any political dissident.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But in the 21st century, the right-wing seemed like an old news. Twenty years after the peaceful democratization of 1987, it seemed that liberal democracy was the settled practice in Korea. Although the right-wing still wielded considerable force, they were aging and would fade away—or so Korea’s liberals thought. The liberals were riding high from the two consecutive terms of liberal presidents, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, from 1997 to 2007. Of course, conservatism would continue to exist, but it would exist in a form that is more common in the advanced democracies: along the lines of the philosophical difference in terms of the proper role of the government, arguing over the proper size of the government, the appropriate level of taxation, regulation of corporations and redistributive policies, and so on. Even when the conservative Lee Myung-bak won the presidency in 2007, the liberals’ expectations for democratic governance continued.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s fair to say that Korea’s liberals were totally unprepared for what awaited them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>II.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h4_HETXEGw0/We1jG2XgrxI/AAAAAAAABz0/NcIRfXHWg6ocrWmzLNw--z1HKwRlotqHQCLcBGAs/s1600/seoul-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="1024" height="424" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h4_HETXEGw0/We1jG2XgrxI/AAAAAAAABz0/NcIRfXHWg6ocrWmzLNw--z1HKwRlotqHQCLcBGAs/s640/seoul-image.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seoul, the most wired city in the world<br />(<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h1GvuotXRcE/TlEia4QLlaI/AAAAAAAARv8/As8MYZCgdkc/s1600/seoul-image.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One cannot understand today’s Korea without understanding the internet. Until the 21st century, Korea was a middling, anonymous country. When placed among the numerous names of the world’s countries, Korea was a blank: not rich enough to command attention, not poor enough to arouse sympathy. Even the most seminal event in modern Korean history—the Korean War—is considered the “forgotten war.” Internet is what propelled Korea into the forefront of the world in the 21st century. Having seen the potential of high-speed internet earlier than just about any other world leader, Kim Dae-jung embarked on a massive project to equip the whole Korea with fiber optic cables during his term. This is perhaps the most underrated achievement of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning president. The result is the Korea of today: world leader in smartphone technology, cities constructed as a technological marvel, a major generator of the popular culture optimized for the digital age.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So it shouldn’t be surprising the new breed of Korea’s young right-wing rose through the internet. What <b><i>was </i></b>surprising was just how retro these young right-wingers were.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The “new right wing” traces its origin to the website called DC Inside. Established in 1999, it was originally a message board to discuss the latest trend in digital cameras. (The site’s name means “digital camera inside.” It had a now-forgotten sister site called “Notebook Inside” that discussed laptops.) Soon, however, DC Inside organically grew into something else entirely. Reflecting its origin as a digital camera site, DC Inside had numerous “Galleries”—a themed message board in which people gathered to talk and, more frequently, engage in the earliest form of internet message board flamewar seen by the humankind. Particularly insane were the DC Baseball Gallery and the DC Comedy Gallery, where gladiatorial fights opened nightly to attract the amused onlookers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The influence of DC Inside on Korea’s internet scene in the early part of the 2000s cannot possibly be overstated. DC Inside was the birthplace of every internet trend and meme. From the fires of the vulgar keyboard wars, a comedic gem would emerge. Such gem of a meme would spread into other major Korean websites, and eventually made their ways to newspapers and television. You might recognize this type of site—it’s Reddit, with Galleries being Subreddits. Reddit was once <a href="https://www.wired.com/2015/10/no-comments-allowed-reddits-new-news-site-upvoted/">described</a> as the “dark, unruly id of the internet,” but DC Inside was the OG of that description, as DC Inside is at least six years older than Reddit. (Note: Remember <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-lessons-of-choi-soon-sil-scandal.html">how I keep saying Korean politics is a five-year preview of US politics</a>? Keep this in mind.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">DC Inside always was a cesspool, but even there, some truly deranged minds distinguished themselves with their over-the-top cessiness. Many of them gravitated toward DC Inside’s Comedy Gallery, then in 2010, separated themselves into their own message board site. There, they collected the most fucked up jokes, photoshopped images and gifs, and voted to choose the “best” material of the day. Thus, the site was known as the “Depository of the Daily Bests,” or Ilgan Best Jeojangso [일간베스트 저장소]. Over time, this site came to be known as the acronym of the first syllable of the first two words: Il-be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1dgmjqf0qqM/We1k6XLU74I/AAAAAAAAB0I/jNSp6NirjGAsvxhbTNqGWCl748sNHz7_gCLcBGAs/s1600/2017050901700_0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="600" height="210" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1dgmjqf0qqM/We1k6XLU74I/AAAAAAAAB0I/jNSp6NirjGAsvxhbTNqGWCl748sNHz7_gCLcBGAs/s400/2017050901700_0.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ilbe's logo<br />(<a href="http://image.chosun.com/sitedata/image/201705/09/2017050901700_0.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For Korea’s young right wing, Ilbe was the demented internet version of the Viennese salon. At the first encounter, Ilbe would appear to be little more than a collection of destructive attitudes. The core of such destructive attitudes was self-loathing, in which Ilbe users wallowed and reveled. In their own telling, Ilbe users were aware of their own ugliness—the awareness which gave them a position of moral superiority in a twisted way, because everyone else who didn’t own up to his ugliness was a hypocrite. With this distorted moral license, Ilbe users engaged in a constant, nihilistic quest to create the most offensive contents possible, which in their minds would expose the hypocrisy of the rest of the Korean society. Violent misogyny, homophobia and racism were Ilbe’s mainstays.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was only a short time before Ilbe as a whole began taking on a discernible political stance as they sketched out their identity based on self-loathing nihilism. After all, all politics is identity politics. As they hunted for the sacred cows of Korean politics, they latched onto the most sacred one: Korea’s democracy. For the nihilistic youth who wanted to destroy the legacy of their father’s generation, there was no better target. Rejection of democracy was perhaps Ilbe’s only clearly stated political goal: the “downvote” button on Ilbe’s site was called “democratize.” This made Ilbe’s politics take on a curiously retro character—curious because while Ilbe’s political gaze looked backwards to pre-democracy Korea, it did not look at the same direction as Korea’s older right wings. The hero of Korea’s older right wing was Park Chung-hee, the authoritarian who (in their minds) defended South Korea from the communists in North Korea and delivered the country from desperate poverty. But the hero of Ilbe was Chun Doo-hwan, the authoritarian who succeeded Park Chung-hee—because Chun is most prominently remembered as the one who massacred hundreds of democratization activists in Gwangju in 1980. For Ilbe users, the ability to kill the liberals was more important than the authoritarian economic development.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Recall that Korea is the world’s first wired society. Korea had cyberbullying and doxxing before the rest of the world even knew what cyberbullying and doxxing were. Korea had the world’s largest social network service long before Facebook entered Mark Zuckerberg’s imagination. So it shouldn’t surprise you that Korea had the world’s first alt-right, long before there was such a word “alt-right,” because it is impossible to conceive of alt-right without the internet. Ilbe users were the world’s first alt-right, in that it foretold central characteristics of all the alt-right movements that would come. To put it diplomatically, they were disaffected young men who, disillusioned by the establishment politics, sought refuge in the idealized version of the past. To put it more straightforwardly, they were fuckheads who indulged in their worst tendencies online, to create a type of politics that is little more than a tool for nihilistically causing pain.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And boy, did Ilbe cause pain. In the decade of conservative rule began in 2007, Ilbe gained enough strength to be one of Korea’s largest websites by 2012. Ilbe became a social phenomenon, the fountainhead of noxious ideas from which Korea’s conservative politicians gathered their talking points and spread their own. When the Sewol ferry sank in 2014 and created the greatest political crisis that Park Geun-hye faced (at least until the Choi Soon-sil scandal broke,) Ilbe took the forefront of the unbelievable task of making the parents who lost their children in the sunken ship as greedy money grabbers. In the most disgusting political theater I have ever seen in my lifetime, hundreds of Ilbe members gathered at the City Hall Square, where the parents of the Sewol ferry children were engaged in a hunger strike, to start a “gluttony strike”: eating fried chicken and pizza to taunt the parents who had been starving for days. Ilbe’s negative influence peaked toward the end of 2014, when an Ilbe user bombed—bombed!—a leftist Korean American speaker, injuring three members of the audience.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eQlrsDAe4D8/We1lgzNnYfI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/iSZqcMQMp5E6pQTGh0rdCgLC2Nwgoty8ACLcBGAs/s1600/2014091712414486752_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="373" data-original-width="560" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eQlrsDAe4D8/We1lgzNnYfI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/iSZqcMQMp5E6pQTGh0rdCgLC2Nwgoty8ACLcBGAs/s1600/2014091712414486752_2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ilbe members engaging in "gluttony strike" in front of the hunger-striking parents<br />of the children who perished in the Sewol ferry sinking (<a href="http://pds.joins.com/news/component/moneytoday/201409/17/2014091712414486752_2.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ilbe put Korea’s liberals completely at a loss. Never in their wildest imagination could they conceive that Korea’s youths would so actively reject democracy itself. Liberals—what else?—wrote a number of books and articles, trying to process what is happening. Some blamed themselves: Park Ga-bun, in his book “Ilbe’s Ideology” [일베의 사상], claimed Ilbe’s hostility to democracy resulted from the failed promises of democratization and the civic movements. Others tried to re-affirm their liberal values, such as freedom of speech. Law professors like Park Kyung-shin of Korea University and Hong Sung-soo of Sookmyung University offered pieties about how even Ilbe members had the right for free speech.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As it turns out, Korea’s liberals were even less prepared for Ilbe than they thought they were, because they simply lacked the imagination to fathom the lengths that Korea’s right-wing would go to destroy them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>III.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Park Geun-hye administration was a lame duck almost from the beginning. Just days before the 2012 presidential election, an agent for the National Intelligence Service—South Korea’s spy agency—was discovered in a small room in Seoul, adding internet comments that criticized liberal politicians. It was big news that came too late in the election cycle; eight days later, Park Geun-hye squeaked past Moon Jae-in to become the sixth president of the Republic of Korea in the democratic era. The Park administration spent its first year fending off charges of a rigged election. After a year of investigation, t<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2013/11/presidential-election-and-spy-agency.html">he facts revealed by the end of 2013</a> was enough to shock the conscience. Since 2009, in the middle of the Lee Myung-bak presidency, the NIS ran a “Psychological Warfare” division whose sole task was to attack South Korean liberals. The 70 or so agents in the Psychological Warfare division were professional internet trolls. They wrote posts on major websites, and upvoted or downvoted posts. They spammed comments until every major news story comment board was filled with their comments. They fired out more than 1.2 million fake tweets. All of these were about Korean politics, praising conservatives and attacking liberals. All of these were in foul, vulgar language—the screen name for one of the NIS agents, for example, was “Decapitate Lefties” [좌익효수].&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Four years later the Park Geun-hye administration fell, through <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-irrational-downfall-of-park-geun-hye.html">an utterly irrational scandal</a> involving a shaman’s daughter. The incoming Moon Jae-in administration re-opened the NIS investigation—whose findings are so staggering that it defied belief.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The government actively created contents to damage the liberals. The NIS consulted psychologists to <a href="http://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20170929500068">create the most damaging and humiliating photoshopped images</a> of liberal politicians and activists. The most prominent example was the photoshopped mixture of Roh Moo-hyun’s funerary photo with a koala, designed to derisively undermine the last president’s dignity without quite stepping over the line. The Blue House also fed narratives: when the parents of the children who died in the Sewol ferry began their hunger strike, the internal Blue House memo <a href="http://v.media.daum.net/v/20171010121503665">said</a> “take out Moon Jae-in, claim he is assisting suicide, politics of death.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dZq5xT6ghoE/We1mUKQDNiI/AAAAAAAAB0c/NU99aSvS3KAn_xVZLFTtqhIAOJoqygyeQCLcBGAs/s1600/%25EB%2585%25B8%25EC%2595%258C%25EB%259D%25BC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="420" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dZq5xT6ghoE/We1mUKQDNiI/AAAAAAAAB0c/NU99aSvS3KAn_xVZLFTtqhIAOJoqygyeQCLcBGAs/s320/%25EB%2585%25B8%25EC%2595%258C%25EB%259D%25BC.jpg" width="262" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Noala," one of the photoshopped <br />images the&nbsp;NIS engineered<br />in order to deride the late Roh Moo-hyun<br />(<a href="http://goos.wiki/images/3/3d/%EB%85%B8%EC%95%8C%EB%9D%BC.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Other damage to liberals was more direct. The Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations <a href="http://v.media.daum.net/v/20170929211628354?f=m&amp;rcmd=rn">blacklisted</a> liberal-leaning celebrities, making sure they could not appear on television. The NIS even had a timetable; an internal memo titled “Expanding the expulsion of left-leaning talents from MBC,” several celebrities such as outspoken rock stars like Yun Do-hyeon and Shin Hae-chul were specifically named, with the date on which they were to be taken off the air. The government also <a href="http://m.insight.co.kr/newsRead.php?ArtNo=121478">threatened advertisers</a>, making sure that these celebrities could not appear on their commercials. The NIS also directed a GamerGate-style attacks against liberal celebrities, using its troll army to <a href="http://www.hankookilbo.com/v/753322d525624219a847041d5a684090">spread false rumors about drug use</a>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The government also created Korea’s right-wing media. Not assisted, not subsidized, <b><i>created </i></b>it out of thin air. In 2009, the Lee Myung-bak administration tapped Byeon Hee-jae, a pathetic gadfly whose only claim to fame until that point was being called “a gadfly no one ever heard of” by a prominent liberal commentator, to <a href="http://news.jtbc.joins.com/html/909/NB11526909.html">start</a> an online publication called Media Watch. The NIS under the Lee administration paid the seed money for Byeon to start his website. Then the Lee administration pressured corporations to buy advertisements on Byeon’s site, and also ordered government workers to sign up for Media Watch’s paid subscription. Park Geun-hye administration, for its part, <a href="http://www.hankookilbo.com/m/v/1755fc18668d424188225b15ac961cad">pressured Naver</a>—Korea’s analogue of Google—to bury the bad news stories from search results.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The conservative government also subsidized right-wing civic groups, using them as extra-governmental political weapons. Lee and Park administrations paid veterans groups, who in turn paid to carry in busloads of old people from the countryside to <a href="http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/bulletin/2017/03/14/0200000000AKR20170314130500004.HTML">stage</a> massive political demonstrations in Seoul. (These included the “counter protestors” to the Candlelight Protests that brought down the Park Geun-hye administration.) Again, the government simply told these civic groups what to do. Following the government’s direction, these civic groups petitioned to keep out former president Kim Dae-jung from the National Cemetery upon his death, and engaged in a letter-writing campaign to Norway to somehow cancel Kim Dae-jung’s Nobel Peace Prize.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Taken together, it was not simply that the conservative government added some trolling firepower Korea’s right wing with fake comments and tweets. Rather, the conservative government was the entire game. The conservative government created political storylines, fed them to the right-wing media that the government itself created, used the right-wing civic groups to repeat them—until they became the mainstream opinion. The dissident voices were harassed, defamed, fired, and silenced, through pressures applied to media and search engine sites.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From start to finish, the conservative government managed the entire process that created a political narrative. And the biggest beneficiary, of course, was Ilbe, Korea’s most heavily trafficked right-wing website. Ilbe was the testing tube that the NIS used to see what humiliating meme would work the best to attack the liberals. Ilbe was the never-ending wellspring of right-wing troll army, who swarmed the left-leaning celebrities the NIS directed them to attack. Ilbe was where right-wing storylines were amplified, giving clicks to right-wing media and serving as a meeting ground for right-wing groups. For all of its vile, outrageous actions, Ilbe was shielded from consequences—the Park Geun-hye administration gave the Ilbe bomber a suspended sentence while deporting the Korean American speaker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A gardener does not bear a fruit; the tree does. But the manner in which the gardener fertilizes the grounds, prunes the branches and pollinates flowers, determines the type and quality of the fruit that the tree bears. Even without the conservative government, Korea may have developed an alt right; but the type and quality of that alt right would have been different. Without the efforts by the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administrations to nurture it with money, and mainstreamize its voices, Korea's alt-right certainly would have been smaller, its vileness less pronounced and more firmly rejected by the rest of the Korean society. It was the conservative administrations that raised Ilbe, to harvest the most toxic fruit. Korea’s alt-right, the first alt-right of the world, was a government start-up.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>IV.</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-erQtS6QzUns/We1oNLkQC6I/AAAAAAAAB0o/88CRWBj2iWkDZngFUN2TR23QdMI64NkhACLcBGAs/s1600/%25EC%25B4%259B%25EB%25B6%2588%2B2016%25EB%2585%2584%2B11%25EC%259B%2594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="700" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-erQtS6QzUns/We1oNLkQC6I/AAAAAAAAB0o/88CRWBj2iWkDZngFUN2TR23QdMI64NkhACLcBGAs/s640/%25EC%25B4%259B%25EB%25B6%2588%2B2016%25EB%2585%2584%2B11%25EC%259B%2594.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Candlelight Protest, a series of peaceful protests held 17 weeks in a row <br />with an average of a million-plus in attendance, brought about Park Geun-hye's impeachment</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fortunately, there is a happy ending to this. Park Geun-hye administration is no more, brought down by months of peaceful protests that eventually led to her impeachment and removal. The new liberal administration headed by Moon Jae-in is riding high, rarely dipping below 70 percent approval rating five months into its rule. Korea’s conservative parties are in shambles, split into several parties and scrambling to find the core from which to begin their rebuilding process. The investigation into the numerous violations of the democratic rule is fully under way. Many of the former administration officials are headed to prison. Park Geun-hye is already imprisoned, and she is highly likely to stay there for an extended period of time. Lee Myung-bak may well end up in prison in the near future also. Ilbe is also significantly weakened from its peak in 2014. By 2015, a few years before the end of the conservative administrations, being associated with Ilbe came to mean a social death in Korea. A newly hired KBS reporter <a href="http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201702141724001&amp;code=940705">nearly lost his job</a> when it was revealed that he was an Ilbe member.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfortunately in my adopted home, the alt right is hitting its peak. They gathered in Charlottesville and murdered Heather Heyer. One of its leaders is in the White House, signing off policies against Muslims and immigrants. Another one of its leaders, freshly ousted from the White House, returned to his media lair to further its narrative. And by the way, Russia has been feeding them materials, amplifying their storylines by targeted Facebook ads, and provided support to create the Trump presidency.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But all of this ends eventually. I know it looks bleak; in the decade of Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye administration, it looked bleak for Korea’s liberals also. The question is of the timing. The actions we take today can make that end point come sooner or later. Korea’s liberals made their share of mistakes, and I see the U.S. liberals making the same kind of mistakes. If we are able to learn from the mistakes Korean liberals had already made, the better days will become that much closer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Specifically, I offer three suggestions:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1. Measured Assumption of Bad Faith.</b>&nbsp; &nbsp;A common liberal mistake is to think within the liberal system. They assume that their opponents care about the rules just as much as they do. This is a mistake—in fact, this is the mistake from which all other mistakes flow. Our opponents are not approaching us in good faith. They do not care about the American democracy. They do not care about the freedom, nor do they give a shit about the Constitution. They simply want to destroy us, and they will do everything they could do actually make that happen.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Of course, our presumption of their bad faith must be <b><i>measured</i></b>. We cannot give ourselves into paranoia, giving primacy to the lefty version of conspiracy theorists whose sole interest is not doing justice, but supplying you with fear in exchange for your money. But our assumption of the opponent’s good faith constrains us unnecessarily, getting us into stupid debates about the Neo-Nazis in Charlottesville have the right to free speech. That question is not relevant to those who are bent on destroying us.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2. Relentless Urgency.</b>&nbsp; &nbsp;Liberals like to think and theorize. Liberals love feeling principled by giving their opponents the room to breathe. They would feel proud of themselves by saying something like the quote commonly (and falsely) attributed to Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Liberals need to drop that attitude. The ersatz Voltaire quote works only if both parties are engaged in the politics of good faith. When one party is acting in bad faith, the proper guidance is not the fake Voltaire quote, but the Chinese essayist Lu Xun. In&nbsp;<i>Jottings under Lamplight</i>, a&nbsp;collection of his essays, Lu Xun acidly wrote why, once you pushed into the water a dog that was attacking you, <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=Hn0uDwAAQBAJ&amp;lpg=PA156&amp;ots=trv7X4kR6U&amp;dq=lu%20xun%20beating%20a%20drowning%20dog&amp;pg=PA157#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">you must continue beating that dog</a>:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">I heard that a brave boxer never hits an enemy when he’s down, and this can indeed be held up as a model for us all. I would accede to this only on the additional condition that the opponent is a brave fighter as well, who once beaten, will either be too ashamed to return for another match or will openly come back to seek his revenge. . . . But this example does not apply to dogs, for they can hardly be counted as opponents in the same league, and no matter how loudly they bark, they cannot be expected to understand chivalry. . . . The moment you let down your guard, the dog will shake itself off, spattering water in your face, and then slink of with its tail between its legs. And its disposition will remain the same afterward. Simple folks may its immersion as a kind of baptism, after which the dog will certainly repent and never come back to bite again, but this view could hardly be more mistaken.</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Liberals need to feel the urgency of this historical moment of now. This is not the time to theorize, when the cost of such theorizing is innumerable human lives—millions without drinking water in Puerto Rico, millions that could burn in a nuclear firestorm in a potential war against North Korea. Your feeling of being principled is no more than cheap entertainment in the face of such stakes. Listen to Lu Xun; don’t ever give them room to breathe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>3. Normal versus Abnormal.</b>&nbsp; &nbsp;Right now, the U.S. liberals are locked in a bitter intramural fight about the proper direction of their party. Should the liberals move to the center in the Clintonite triangulation? Should they move further toward social democracy with the attempt to clearly mark the ideological commitment? But I can tell you that, when the change happens, it would not be because the liberals got these questions right. When liberals prevail, it would be because they set themselves up as the “normal ones,” while the opponents are set up as the abnormal ones. In Korea, when it was revealed that the president was so feeble in her mind that she would let a shaman’s daughter dictate what she might wear, the game was over.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The extreme normcore—an intentional, nearly ironic commitment toward normalcy—is what prevails in the end. Most people, both in Korea and in the U.S., are not deeply engaged with politics. Ultimately, all they want out of politics is for things to work quietly and efficiently. So be aware when you should act as an ideologue, and when you should go undercover as a regular, concerned citizen. By all means, crush all the trolls on the internet; but don’t try to crush your uncle during a Thanksgiving dinner. Instead, simply continue talking about how shitty everything is—it’s not as if there isn’t enough to talk about. (My personal favorite: <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/07/department-of-energy-risks-michael-lewis">this incredible article</a> by Michael Lewis about how US nuclear weapons are being handled by idiots and could wipe out a city at any given moment.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"No two countries are the same," a U.S. liberal might say. "So far, there is not enough evidence to indicate that U.S. politics is infected with the same level of subversive effort as Korea did." To which I might say, sure—go ahead and feel good about yourself. For my part, I am not waiting for the day when our enemies, the enemies of freedom and liberal democracy, actually carry out all the bad things they have in store for us. I am acting with urgency. You should too.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-83395932656625709262017-09-28T19:04:00.001-04:002017-09-28T20:39:37.818-04:00Rice and Banchan - a Love Affair<div style="text-align: justify;">It's been a while, hasn't it? One of the reasons why posting has been slow on AAK! was because TK was in Seoul last month for work. While I was there, I got to try some of the restaurants in Seoul that just earned their stars from the Michelin Guide, which got me thinking about the essence of Korean food. Below, I'll share with you my experience at those restaurants and my thoughts. This time, I tried my hand at a magazine-style writing.<br /><b><br /></b><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b>*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</b></div><b><br /></b><b>I.&nbsp; &nbsp;At a Michelin Three-Star Restaurant </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What is Korean food? I was at Gaon, a fine dining restaurant in the affluent Sinsa-dong district in Seoul, when I faced this question. Specifically, the question was posed as a piece of fish. The fish, the fourth course served in Gaon’s prix-fixe menu, was a roasted piece of <i>geumtae </i>from the southern island of Jeju. The fish is also known as blackthroat seaperch, or as nodoguro in Japan. Like all the dishes before it, this piece of geumtae was fantastic. The crispy fried skin was like a golden piece of toast; underneath was the fatty meat that retained its shape and texture for a second in the mouth before melting away. “Tastes like a Michelin star,” my dinner companion joked. Yet something about the fish—a Korean fish, served at a Korean restaurant—bothered me. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Co5dYmYYJg/Wc19NFIjm7I/AAAAAAAAByM/wMvSnW_3UkY3RzNZ-4jrUJHJlRnFcPI4gCLcBGAs/s1600/Geumtae.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Co5dYmYYJg/Wc19NFIjm7I/AAAAAAAAByM/wMvSnW_3UkY3RzNZ-4jrUJHJlRnFcPI4gCLcBGAs/s640/Geumtae.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roasted geumtae from Gaon<br />(Source: myself)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />I had high hopes for Gaon. The restaurant is run by KwangJuYo company, a guardian of various Korean traditions. KwangJuYo began in 1963 as a pottery company, reviving the fine chinaware that used to be produced for the Joseon Dynasty kings. KwangJuYo is also known for their brand of traditional soju called Hwayo, which puts to shame the cheap, aspartame-laced imposters in green bottles. Gaon is KwangJuYo’s flagship restaurant. When the Michelin Guide came to Seoul for the first time in April 2017, the French reviewers awarded Gaon with three stars, the guide’s highest distinction. Gaon was one of only two restaurants in Seoul that earned three Michelin stars.<br /><br />(More after the jump.)<br /><br /><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Gaon’s service and atmosphere were impeccable. The restaurant offered a Hwayo pairing with the food, which my dinner companion and I gladly chose over the wine pairing. The KwangJuYo porcelain graced both the wall and the table, as the food was served on the in-house dinnerware. The prix-fixe course began with five types of amuse-bouche, all made with traditional Korean ingredients like minari (water parsley,) uni wrapped in crispy seaweed, beef tartare flavored with sesame oil. After a soothing round of corn porridge, a cold crab meat salad came, followed by the most perfectly cooked bit of roasted abalone. Then came the fish, delicious and nagging. In fact, the nagging feeling had been with me since the crab meat salad. But what could it be? This was a gorgeous dish. It was so good, that it could appear in any fine New York restaurant and earn rave reviews … </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eureka. The thought of the land distant from Seoul made me realize what has been bothering me: this is the first time in my life, made up of 17 years in Korea and 20 years in the United States, in which I am eating a Korean meal and ate a cooked fish without rice. With soju-fueled indignation, I blurted out: “This fish is <i>banchan</i>. Where is the rice?” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>II.&nbsp; &nbsp;Banchan, and the Essence of the Korean Style of Eating </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you ever visited a Korean restaurant, even just once, you have seen banchan. Before you receive what you ordered—sometimes, before you order anything at all—an array of dishes come in small plates. One of them, without fail, is kimchi. Others can be meat, fish or vegetables. They can be raw, cooked, tossed, pickled, braised, fermented. Those are banchan: literally, “companion to rice.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eating food with carbohydrates is hardly unique to Koreans. Nor is eating food with rice, as other rice-growing cultures also center their cuisine around rice. But none of those cultures created a cuisine quite like Korea’s, which obsesses over building a constellation of small dishes to orbit around the rice. To be sure, not all Korean dishes come with numerous banchan. Dishes like <i>gukbap </i>(국밥, or rice-in-soup,) noodles, or bibimbap usually come with the maximum of three or so side dishes. But traditionally, Koreans have considered those banchan-less dishes to be the “lower” food that you would eat when you are out-and-about. Bibimbap, for example, originated as a dish for peasants on the field, who would mix in all the banchan into a large bowl with rice and sauce to eat quickly during their mid-day break. Gukbap and noodles were usually served at guest houses for travelers who needed to eat quickly and continue their journey. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A proper Korean meal is always with a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, and banchan. Lots and lots of banchan. The greater the number and variety, the better. Koreans judge a restaurant by the number and quality of banchan. Knowing this, many restaurants in Korea have a dedicated kitchen position called <i>chanmo</i>—the “mother of banchan.” In Korea, this desire for ever more banchan has led to inefficiency and waste. Breathless reports of unscrupulous restaurants re-using uneaten banchan are a staple of Seoul’s local news. Observing the public hygiene regulations meant an enormous amount of food waste. To introduce efficiency, the Korean government in 1982 attempted to install <i>jumun sikdanje</i>&nbsp;[주문식단제], the “a la carte” system that required restaurant customers to specifically order each banchan. The attempt was short-lived, however—Koreans simply would not countenance the idea that they might pay for banchan separately. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With rice and banchan, a Korean table forms a system. The rice is the center of gravity, to which everything eventually returns. Banchan revolves around rice, as a planet would around a star. This juxtaposition of rice and banchan makes eating Korean food take on a unique rhythm. You alternate bites, between rice and banchan. One spoonful of rice, followed by a piece of kimchi. One spoonful of rice, one bit of braised fish cake. One spoonful of rice, one bit of tossed bean sprouts. Rice, banchan. Rice, banchan. This unique rhythm, in turn, creates a unique flavor profile. It is impossible to eat banchan on its own, for the flavor of banchan is always excessive. Standing alone, banchan is always too salty, too spicy, too fishy, too hot in temperature. Nor can you eat rice on its own. A bowl of rice is not like the bread that accompanies a Western meal. A piece of bread is a self-contained dish with salt and butter that can be eaten on its own. A bowl of rice is not a dish; it is a single ingredient, steamed. The ever-so-slightly sweet flavor of steamed rice is not enough to carry you through the entire bowl. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Consider kimchi, the ultimate banchan. Koreans are so inseparable from kimchi that Dr. Lee So-yeon, the first Korean in space, took a can of space kimchi with her. Yet the most common type of kimchi, made with salted Napa cabbage seasoned with fish sauce, garlic and chili powder, cannot possibly be eaten alone. Every aspect of kimchi’s flavor profile—salt, brine, heat, acidity—is far too much. Eating kimchi makes your mouth water, crying for rice. The relief comes with a spoonful of steamed rice, as the subtle sweetness of rice meets the lingering flavor of kimchi in your mouth. But the momentary bliss on the tongue barely lasts a second. The sensation quickly gives way to blandness, which calls out for other banchan. Then rice, then banchan. Rice, banchan. The flavors spiral up, the eating accelerates, until your rice bowl is empty, all the small dishes are empty, and you’re so full you can barely move. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h3jH7EpRRQY/Wc2Af_wIl5I/AAAAAAAABy4/CdQPbz-YlaQ1ffjifeFhO4DWiAtg-J_6gCLcBGAs/s1600/-20084151147172308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="531" data-original-width="800" height="424" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-h3jH7EpRRQY/Wc2Af_wIl5I/AAAAAAAABy4/CdQPbz-YlaQ1ffjifeFhO4DWiAtg-J_6gCLcBGAs/s640/-20084151147172308.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dr. Lee So-yeon at the International Space Station, eating the first Korean meal in space in April 2008.<br />The space kimchi is in the can that looks like a tuna can.<br />(<a href="https://www.kari.re.kr/cop/bbs/BBSMSTR_000000000011/selectBoardArticle.do;jsessionid=B952837878D5FF074F7A6979242B8A8F?nttId=311&amp;kind=&amp;mno=sitemap_02&amp;pageIndex=23&amp;searchCnd=&amp;searchWrd=">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This upward spiral of flavors, created through an alternation between rice and banchan, is the stylistic essence of Korean cuisine. David Chang articulated this essence well, although Chang’s understanding Korean food can be shallow. (Not long ago, Chang <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/eats/amazing-vegetarian-korean-dishes-pork-centric-nyc-celebrity-chef-david-chang-momofuku-article-1.114270">exclaimed</a>: “I had no idea there were such endless varieties in namul,” referring to edible vegetables, one of the most basic components of Korean food. Imagine an Italian chef marveling at the varieties of cheese.) In what he calls the “unified theory of deliciousness,” Chang identified the mechanism through which Korean food works, although he was not limiting himself to Korean food: “Normally we think of a balanced dish as being neither too salty nor undersalted. I think that’s wrong. When a dish is perfectly seasoned, it will taste simultaneously like it has too much salt and too little salt. It is fully committed to being both at the same time. . . . [The paradox] nags at you, and it keeps you in the moment, thinking about what you’re tasting. And that’s what makes it delicious.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">That’s one way to put it. Another way to describe the relationship between rice and banchan is: love. Rice and banchan do not stand at arm’s length from each other, exchanging a polite handshake. Instead, they are engaged in an intercourse, a passionate embrace of flavors, where a deep exploration of one naturally and irresistibly leads to a desperate desire for the other. Chasing that desire and diving deep into the other, like magic, leads one back to self—a changed, better self that only exists in conjunction with the other. Rice and banchan love each other. It is inconceivable for them to be separated. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>III.&nbsp; &nbsp;Banchan in the 21st Century </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Traditions change. The fads of diet hit Korea just as much as they hit any other part of the world, attempting to separate rice and banchan. First it was the low sodium diet, which led to the abomination that was low-sodium kimchi. Then it was the low carb diet, which urged Koreans to eat less rice, which in turn meant eating less banchan.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Haute cuisine, and in particular the course meal, is a new challenge to the tradition. The course meal—the <i>service a la Russe</i>—was itself a hijacking of the French tradition, as it was a Russian diplomat who first served a French meal in courses, breaking from the <i>service a la Francaise</i> in which all the dishes were presented on the table at the same time. Yet the course meal is the antithesis of rice and banchan, the <i>service a la Coreenne</i>. At Gaon, the grilled geumtae fish sans rice was not even the most tragic divorce. The deepest sorrow was the next course: kimchi, by itself. Gaon’s kimchi was beautiful, delicious, and technically incredible. Marinated and fermented in pear juice, the kimchi was neither salty nor spicy, yet retained all of its complex flavors in a way that was adjusted to the reduced sodium and heat level. And the kimchi came out as a standalone item in a course meal. It stood beautiful and impotent, its flavors no longer calling for rice. The kimchi was a Ken doll, handsome and without genitals. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The popularity of Korean food outside of Korea accelerates the decontextualization, the divorce of rice and banchan. Second generation Korean Americans don’t care that much about the inherent logic of rice and banchan; non-Koreans do even less. When choosing Korean food, the meat-loving Americans gravitate toward Korean barbecue, and the health-conscious ones go for bibimbap—neither of which requires a lot of banchan. (The cost-conscious Korean restaurants in the U.S. are all too happy to ditch banchan.) The higher end Korean restaurants in New York have dispensed with banchan altogether. At Jungsik, the fanciest Korean restaurant in New York, “banchan” refers to amuse-bouche. (At our recent visit, my dinner companion joked: “if they are calling this ‘banchan,’ shouldn’t I be able to get an infinite refill of this?”) At Hooni Kim’s Danji and Hanjan, banchan is categorized as an appetizer, which means—horrors—they charge for the banchan. At Atoboy, the latest sensation of Korean food in New York, the entire menu is banchan served like tapas, in which rice is optional. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; * </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Unfulfilled at Gaon, I set out for my next destination in Seoul. I returned to Sinsa-dong for a meal at Kwonsooksoo, a Michelin 2-star restaurant. Head chef Kwon Woo-joong is considered a rising young chef of Korean cuisine, known for a thoughtful approach as he attempted to translate Korea’s tradition into the modern era. You can see Kwon means business about the Korean tradition just as soon as you sit down at the table. On top of the regular table, there is a miniature, personal-sized table that replicates the traditional, single-serving Korean table. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4eR4qmQo1IA/Wc1-ifwK80I/AAAAAAAAByY/Fnoy5ChiLd8xk5x7EmLAGIkDdaOLdTLBwCLcBGAs/s1600/20170817_230838.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4eR4qmQo1IA/Wc1-ifwK80I/AAAAAAAAByY/Fnoy5ChiLd8xk5x7EmLAGIkDdaOLdTLBwCLcBGAs/s640/20170817_230838.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Table setting at Kwonsooksoo<br />(Source: myself)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The very first course at Kwonsooksoo—a <i>juansang</i>—nearly made me jump with joy. On a juansang, a glass of wine stands in for a bowl of rice, surrounded by anju, a sub-category of banchan intended to accompany alcohol. On Kwonsooksoo’s version of juansang, a glass of rice wine occupied the center, appearing with a potato crisp with dots of gochujang, half-dried persimmon stuffed with cream cheese, pressed pork gelatin, pine nut porridge, beef jerky and a cracker made of crispy seaweed. Here it was, the exact thing that I was looking for: banchan interacting with rice, or at least a rice derivative. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mTPySWlf2g4/Wc1-3Re3uII/AAAAAAAAByc/L0DH9Y15vaszP22Ap3RwqCCnfE4EtlkWQCLcBGAs/s1600/20170817_232524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mTPySWlf2g4/Wc1-3Re3uII/AAAAAAAAByc/L0DH9Y15vaszP22Ap3RwqCCnfE4EtlkWQCLcBGAs/s640/20170817_232524.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Juansang</i> at Kwonsooksoo. Possibly the most striking Korean table I've ever seen.<br />(Source: myself)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following courses were standalone dishes (sea urchin corn soup, incredibly delicious dandelion noodles and pan-friend cabbage pancakes,) all of which were types of food that are not usually eaten with rice. I am giddy when I arrive at the main course—a seasonal <i>bansang</i>, the “rice table.” Many Korean restaurants fail to make rice properly, not giving due care to the meal’s center of gravity. Not so at Kwonsooksoo. Earlier in the course, my companions and I each received an individualized rice pot with a small stove underneath, cooking the rice as we moved through the other courses. The smell of rice being steamed drove up the anticipation. Finally, my table set arrived: a bowl of chilled cucumber soup, and six small plates of banchan: scallion kimchi, beef braised in soy sauce, spicy fermented skate, tossed zucchini, crispy piece of seaweed with braised mushrooms, and a pickled pepper. Rice, soup, banchan; yes, this was a proper Korean meal. I am ready to play the host for the lovefest. I want this rice to call for banchan, and the banchan call back to rice. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The waiter opened the rice pot. “Huh,” I muttered, taken aback. Inside the pot, there were three small, half-dried fish, cooked on top of the steamed rice. The waiter then hashed the rice, breaking up the fish and mixing it into the rice, then served it on a bowl. I began eating the fish-rice with banchan. The interplay was still there. The fish was lightly salted, but not enough for the fish-rice to be a standalone dish. The slight grease and brine from the fish called for banchan in a way that was different from a simple bowl of rice would. Scallion kimchi’s tartness responded well, and so did salty savoriness of braised mushroom. <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ewaJjYVO09g/Wc1_ZVULUMI/AAAAAAAAByk/nO_ALJkfBwspYUiDhj6wMVgiQfqZvpN1gCLcBGAs/s1600/20170818_000711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ewaJjYVO09g/Wc1_ZVULUMI/AAAAAAAAByk/nO_ALJkfBwspYUiDhj6wMVgiQfqZvpN1gCLcBGAs/s640/20170818_000711.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seasonal <i>bansang</i> with fish-rice from Kwonsooksoo<br />(Source: myself)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The love was still there, but like Kwonsooksoo itself, it was the modern kind. There was just a little more distance between the rice and the banchan, like casual lovers who return to their own lives after a brief tryst. Which is all fine and good. It just made one a bit nostalgic about the wild, unrestrained embrace of flavors that used to be.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-24183156118694718952017-07-28T23:49:00.000-04:002017-07-29T10:14:07.573-04:00Book Review: Seoul Man by Frank Ahrens (2016)<div style="text-align: justify;">(Disclosure: &nbsp;I received a review copy of the book, and Frank and I met in person.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1qipUQtGNzI/WXvfHUbQO1I/AAAAAAAABww/VCWQt89cLZAiDpmZ4UCuYJFEF1-7ZkymQCLcBGAs/s1600/2016-08-10-1470831985-8695556-seoulman-thumb.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="298" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1qipUQtGNzI/WXvfHUbQO1I/AAAAAAAABww/VCWQt89cLZAiDpmZ4UCuYJFEF1-7ZkymQCLcBGAs/s1600/2016-08-10-1470831985-8695556-seoulman-thumb.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hyundai Motor, of South Korea, is the world's fourth largest automobile manufacturer by the number of vehicles manufactured. The foregoing sentence is simultaneously mundane and incredible. Mundane, because it is such an obvious fact of life that is clearly visible to us. Hyundai and Kia cars are a common sight no matter where you live in the world--Asia, Europe, North America, South America, or Africa.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yet it is also incredible, when you consider the history of the companies with which Hyundai rubs its shoulders. Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 in the United States, which was then already the world's foremost economy by a wide margin. Renault was founded in 1899 in France. Fiat, also in 1899 in Italy. Hyundai, in contrast, was founded in 1963, when South Korea's per capita GDP was less than $150. Yet today, Hyundai outsells all of Ford, Fiat and Renault. In fact, Hyundai manufactures more cars than Fiat and Renault combined.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The story of Hyundai's growth is commonly told in tandem with the account of the marvelous growth that South Korea experienced post-Korean War. But the less frequently told part of the story is that, actually, the story has two stages. South Korea and its stalwart corporations reached middle-income by mid-1990s. The country was prosperous, but was not exactly world-leading. For much the 1990s, South Korea was one of the mass of countries that did not attract much attention--not poor and starving enough to arouse humanitarian concerns, and not rich or glamorous enough to inspire admiration.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But since the late 1990s, South Korea's corporations--at least those that survived the painful adjustment occasioned by the East Asian Financial Crisis in 1997--went to another level. Rather than being stuck at the "middle income trap," South Korea hit escape velocity. Its foremost corporations rose to the level reserved for the world's very best. Today, Samsung Electronics is the only meaningful challenger to Apple's iPhone juggernaut, and Hyundai only trails Toyota and Volkswagen in the number of cars manufactured per year. (Hyundai also trails General Motors if you include the production by SAIC, GM's Chinese joint venture.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This part of South Korea's story deserves to be told more. Marginal improvement always gets progressively more difficult. Seeing from the ground level, the gap between "rudimentary" and "pretty good" may seem greater than the same between "pretty good" and "among the best." The differential in skill between hoopers at the local playground and a bench warmer for an NBA team is much greater than the differential between the bench warmer and an NBA starter, and much, much greater than that between an NBA starter and the likes of Lebron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Kawhi Leonard. But the <i><b>effort</b></i> it takes to go from an NBA starter to an MVP-caliber player is no less than the effort it takes for a regular person to become an NBA bench warmer. In fact, "effort" might not even be the right word, for it implies the continuation of the same path, only with more intensity. Often, it requires a complete re-definition of self for a player to make the leap and reach the next level.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Same is true with Hyundai. Hyundai Motor could have been another Skoda Auto or Tata Motors--a solid carmaker that does well enough domestically or within its region--and it still would have been considered a success. But Hyundai did much better. How? Frank Ahrens answers that question in his book <i>Seoul Man</i>, which makes it a unique read among books about Korea in English.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Early on in the book, we learn that Ahrens had been a journalist for the Washington Post for 18 years when he decided to make a career change. His wife's new job as a State Department official took his sights abroad--to Seoul, as a public relations executive for Hyundai Motor. Ahrens would be one of the very few non-Koreans who worked for Hyundai Motor, and the only non-Korean executive. Ahrens had never lived outside of the United States, never visited Korea, and spoke no Korean. When he lands in Korea, he finds the local customs (such as heavy soju drinking) confusing and bewildering.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Eye rolls. This story has been written a thousand times, mostly badly, by thousands of Western people visiting Asia for the first time. If you had been reading blog posts about Korea ten years ago (like I was,) this is all the blog posts you ever read--clever enough bits of writing with a limited perspective that end up being incomplete or misleading, all in the same way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But like his would-be employer, Ahrens soon escapes this mediocrity by astutely noticing a parallel among South Korea, Hyundai, and his own life. He notes that all three were going through a mid-life crisis of some sort. South Korea was escaping the middle income trap, but not without costs to its people. Hyundai needed to make the next step to become not only a global brand, but also a desirable luxury brand. And Ahrens himself needed to adjust to a newly married life, in a new country, in a new job that he never performed before.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This ends up making an excellent story. Hyundai Motor in Ahrens' story is not an fresh whipper-snapper trying to join the pros. It is a young Michael Jordan, still not entirely in control of all of his abilities, trying to win his first championship. We learn that during Ahrens' tenure, Hyundai applied the gorgeous "fluidic sculpture" design to its Elantra and Sonata sedans, making Hyundai desirable for its design rather than its price point. We learn about Hyundai's incredibly audacious plan to make themselves into the next Audi, taking its entire brand upmarket rather than separating out a "luxury" line like Toyota did with Lexus and Honda with Acura. As this type of story is not widely circulated beyond trade magazines, Ahrens is making a valuable contribution to the library of books about Korea in English, especially because Ahrens' writing style makes <i>Seoul Man</i> a breezy read.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Set against this narrative, the stories about Ahrens himself and his family are nice reliefs. For the most part, this part of the book is not really instructive for a non-Korean person trying to begin a new life in Korea. Because of his wife's job, Ahrens mostly lives in the U.S. military base in the middle of Seoul in a house given to him. (He eventually moves out of the base when his wife is transferred to Indonesia.) There is no immigrant story in <i>Seoul Man</i>, where the new arrival must overcome the vagaries of a new housing market operating in a foreign language. But the Ahrenses are likable people, and you end up enjoying their story of adjustment into Korea. Particularly valuable is the account of Ahrens trying to adjust into Hyundai's corporate culture, as more non-Korean executives will undoubtedly join Korean corporations in the future.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, the bad part. In the middle of <i>Seoul Man</i>--specifically, in Chapters 6 through 11, for about 70 pages--Ahrens attempts to play the role of an amateur historian-cum-anthropologist. He goes through the stiff rules of Confucianism, the social graces that rely on non-verbal cues, Admiral Yi Sun-sin, North Korea, and more. It is not the worst exposition of Korean history and culture I've ever read--nothing is explicitly wrong per se--but that only means I read a lot of shitty writings about Korea.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To his credit, Ahrens steers clear from the worst forms of <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2007/10/culturalism-racism-of-21st-century.html">culturalism</a>. But the book would have improved if these chapters were left off. There was no need for <i>Seoul Man</i> to be a "brief introduction of South Korean history and culture"--70 pages is not enough space for that, and the world already has <a href="http://readingkorea.blogspot.com/2013/09/korea-impossible-country-by-daniel.html">Daniel Tudor's <i>Korea: the Impossible Countr</i></a><i>y.</i>&nbsp;(To be sure, I found even Tudor's book to lapse into cultural essentialism at times, especially when it discusses Confucianism.) The space that these chapters took up was a missed opportunity to talk more about the best story that <i>Seoul Man</i> could offer: the one about cars. There are many more angles about Korea's automobile industry that the book could have explored, such as: how did Hyundai Motor approach the South Korean domestic market? How did the competitors react to Hyundai's rise from an okay brand to a world-beating one? What did the non-Korean auto brands think about selling their cars in Korea? These stories could be told in the context of, say, South Korean consumer behavior, which would have given a ground-level perspective of how Korean society was changing into a more mature one.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This should not dissuade you from reading <i>Seoul Man</i>, however. There are not that many books about South Korea in English to begin with, and I cannot think of any other book in English that observes the granules of how Korea went from a developing country to an advanced country. (If I stretched the boundaries very far, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Goes-Korea-Revolution-Internet/dp/1933330686">Mark Russell's <i>Pop Goes Korea</i></a> might qualify, in that Russell discusses the growth of Korean pop culture from a local knock-off to a world-leading phenomenon.) Not even Koreans themselves discuss all that much about how Korea went to a whole new level in the last 20 years--perhaps because they were too much in the thick of it to notice. To fill the gap of knowledge about the most recent part of the story of South Korea's rise, <i>Seoul Man</i> is well worth your time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-57298109599308591762017-07-04T09:49:00.000-04:002017-07-05T09:29:52.906-04:00On Cultural Appropriation, One More Time<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8FW4SE4usKA/WVuWh5d4TII/AAAAAAAABvc/t98lWRNNnkQlvzBYPXP3v0Kha_7RD12mQCLcBGAs/s1600/Cultural_appropriation.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="645" height="499" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8FW4SE4usKA/WVuWh5d4TII/AAAAAAAABvc/t98lWRNNnkQlvzBYPXP3v0Kha_7RD12mQCLcBGAs/s640/Cultural_appropriation.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://sjwiki.org/images/6/62/Cultural_appropriation.png">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">I wrote about cultural appropriation in <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2016/06/appropriate-appropriation.html">an older post</a>, which contains essentially all of my thoughts on the topic. But considering how cultural appropriation continues to appear in the popular conversation, I thought I would give it another round. I want to focus on two issues: (a) the harm of cultural appropriation, and (b) the reason why people are having a hard time understanding why cultural appropriation is harmful.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cultural appropriation is a real and serious concept, in that it describes a phenomenon that causes a real and serious harm. Cultural appropriation reduces cultural artifacts to a prop, which in turn reduces the people of that culture into a prop also. Cultural appropriation is not the same thing as cultural exchange, or being influenced by another culture. In a very real sense, cultural appropriation is <b><i>stealing</i></b>, as is clearly implied from the word “appropriation.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What precisely is the thing being stolen when we speak of cultural appropriation? Detractors are quick to argue that no one owns culture, and no one can. But that is a crabbed view of what “ownership” can mean. Of course, no one owns culture like one owns property—say, a car. Ownership of a car, or any other property, is a legal right. A piece of paper with legal significance establishes your ownership of your car. By owning your car, you can exclude me from using your car. If I used your car without the legal right to do so—that is, if I appropriated your car—the force of the law would apply to me. You could sue for any damage I caused to the car, or you could call the police to come after me and send me to jail.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But property ownership is not the only kind of ownership that exists, for humans own many things beyond property. Chief among them is <b><i>agency</i></b>, the power to define one’s own identity. Your name, for example, is an artifact of your agency. It is a word that defines your identity. Yet you do not own your name like you would own your car. Unless you undergo the process of turning your name into some type of property—for example, by using your name as a registered trademark—you have no legal protection over the word that you use as your name. You have no right to exclude the use of your name. (If you are one of the millions of American men named “Michael,” you cannot prohibit anyone from naming your child “Michael.”) You cannot sue someone else who has the same name as yours, nor can you call the police over the name sameness.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Yet the lack of such legal protections does not make your name any less <b><i>your </i></b>name. When someone takes away your name—when someone appropriates it—the violence involved in such a taking is obvious. It is no surprise that bullying usually begins with name-calling, an act of replacing your name with another word. The replacement word need not even be derogatory; it merely needs to be arbitrary enough to show that you did not choose the replacement word. NBA player Jeremy Lin, for example, <a href="http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19353394/jeremy-lin-brooklyn-nets-says-heard-racist-remarks-more-frequently-college-nba">recounted how fans of the opposing team used to taunt him by calling him “chicken fried rice.”</a> The term “chicken fried rice,” standing alone, is far from offensive; it is a delicious dish enjoyed by billions around the world. But obviously, the racist taunters of Jeremy Lin were not using the term “chicken fried rice” as a word that meant what it said. Rather, they were using the term as an arbitrary marker of their racism. Because Lin is Chinese, bullies took away his name in favor of an arbitrary Chinese dish. Jeremy Lin’s name, his identity, was appropriated, in favor of a random ethnic marker.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Cultural appropriation as a theft is easier to understand if you understand culture to be an integral part of human identity, just like a name is. Cultural appropriation is stealing in that the appropriator takes away a culture, distorts it, and redefines it in a way that redefines the original holder of that culture. It is just like a situation in which a bully gives you a humiliating nickname, and you are known only as your nickname to everyone. You are no longer Jeremy Lin; you’re just “chicken fried rice.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One easy way to distinguishing cultural appropriation from cultural exchange is to examine the power relationship behind it. Cultural appropriation always involves power, as it is the strong who steals from and redefines the weak. It is no surprise, then, that colonialism provides the most obvious examples cultural appropriation. Although colonizers try to erase the culture of the colonized for the most part, erasure of culture is not all they do. Typically, the colonizers preserve a small segment of the colonized culture, distort it to suit their taste, and make the piece of distorted culture their trophy. In doing so, the colonizers take away the agency of the colonized to shape their own culture by stealing and redefining their culture.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Such examples are common everywhere, but since this blog is called <i>Ask a Korean!</i>, here is an example from Japan’s colonization of Korea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n2vgCX40XbU/WVuX0kpQmxI/AAAAAAAABvk/p7siJHVG3l0oHBtiuprqP9qxH4voriVSgCLcBGAs/s1600/Hanjeongsik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="653" data-original-width="980" height="426" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-n2vgCX40XbU/WVuX0kpQmxI/AAAAAAAABvk/p7siJHVG3l0oHBtiuprqP9qxH4voriVSgCLcBGAs/s640/Hanjeongsik.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://static.wixstatic.com/media/786e27_7c787f1ddd184cd8a381b8b24dd0eada.jpg_srz_980_653_85_22_0.50_1.20_0.00_jpg_srz">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The pictured food above is <i>hanjeongsik </i>[한정식]. Many Koreans know it to be a traditional dish—but it is not. Before the Japanese invasion in the early 20th century, the people of the Joseon Dynasty never ate like this, with dozens of side dishes on the table. By Confucian law, the maximum number of allowed side dishes [<i>banchan</i>] was nine or twelve, which was only allowed to the king and the royal court. (The nine-banchan table <a href="http://t1.daumcdn.net/qna/image/89bfdedbaee9f8d888b7301d9ce79e3ca45c6d26?original">looks like this</a>. It is still opulent, without being crassly lavish.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hanjeongsik is an artifact of Imperial Japan’s appropriation of Korea's culinary culture. Once the Japanese colonized Korea, well-to-do Japanese often traveled through Korea in tourist packages not unlike the Japanese tourism groups that were common around the world in the 1980s. After seeing the sights, the Japanese would come to a “traditional” Korean restaurant to have “traditional” Korean food—except there was nothing traditional about either the restaurant or the food, for no Korean ate at those restaurants, and no Korean ate like that. Hanjeongsik was a "tour of Korea" for the Japanese tourists. It was a freak show of a meal, a distorted culinary tradition that was commoditized for the conquerors. And today, many Koreans who don’t study culinary history deeply think hanjeongsik is a traditional Korean food. The Japanese colonizers appropriated Korean food; they stole a Korean food concept, distorted it, and redefined it, such that the distortion is now (erroneously) considered a part of the tradition. It should not come as a surprise that the first hanjeongsik restaurants—called <i>yojeong </i>[요정] back then—were also Korea’s first brothels.* The exploitation of commoditized female body immediately followed the exploitation of commoditized food culture. In both instances, agency was lost.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(*To be sure, prostitution existed in Korea long, long before the Japanese colonization. But prostitution as an organized industry, featuring brothels with pimps and madams, did not appear in Korea until after the colonization.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the U.S. context, the most apt examples of cultural appropriation come from Native Americans, the colonized people of the United States. The pattern is the same: the dominant culture steals from Native Americans, reduces them into a prop, and use the prop as a trophy. In America, this process happens pretty close to literally, as millions cheer for sports teams with racist Native American caricatures, the trophy symbols for savage bravery. Never mind the fact that these trophies rarely resembled the actual Native Americans who are living their lives in the 21st century, often not too far away from those who cheer for those sports teams.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What went wrong with cultural appropriation? In the wider public discourse, cultural appropriation usually exists as an object of mockery rather than a serious concept. Yet when I explain cultural appropriation in the terms discussed above, I have encountered significantly less resistance. Of course, there are always those who are blind to their privilege such that they are unable to see the injustices caused by unequal power relationship. But I have found that many of the strident objectors of cultural appropriation end up seeing the value of the concept of cultural appropriation, if they come to understand that cultural appropriation involves denial of agency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The real complaint, I have found, is not with the concept of cultural appropriation; rather, it is with the way in which the concept is commonly deployed in real life—that is, without reflection or rigor. Cultural appropriation is not an easy concept. The harm caused by cultural appropriation is real and serious, but very often invisible and beyond intuitive understanding. It would have taken decades of careful cultivation for the concept for cultural appropriation to be translated into a practical manual of behavior. Instead, the concept was thrown around as a cudgel, a weapon wielded indiscriminately to win petty political battles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is ironic that just as soon as we as a society began taking systematic racism seriously, the ersatz anti-racists stopped thinking in a systematic manner. Or maybe there is no irony, for systematic thinking is not for everyone. Whatever the cause may be, we are now living in the era of “<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2014/03/against-hashtag-warriors.html">magic word racism</a>”—an attempt to detect racism by presence and absence of certain words or phrases, without reference to the context in which those words appear or to the intent with which those words were spoken. Instead of thinking deeply about racism, people now seek magical totems to figure out whether someone or something is racist.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I wrote plenty about the harms of magic word racism previously (<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2014/03/against-hashtag-warriors.html">here </a>and <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2014/04/against-hashtag-warriors-their.html">here</a>,) so I won’t repeat myself. For our purposes, it is enough to say magic word racism is petty moral hypochondria, a meaningless virtue-signaling at the expense of others. It is no surprise that magic word racism, the small-minded attempts to regulate what particular word people are allowed to say, only has currency in places that purport to be the most progressive, such as college campuses or certain cities. There would be no point in virtue-signaling in any other place.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And surely enough, it is the same places that see the most ridiculous claims of cultural appropriation, such as <a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2015/12/23/oberlin_students_think_americanized_asian_food_is_cultural_appropriation.html">bad Chinese food in the cafeteria</a> or <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/food/wp/2017/05/26/should-white-chefs-sell-burritos-a-portland-restaurants-revealing-controversy/?utm_term=.03b4caf17c6f">white people making burritos</a>. In these places, “cultural appropriation” no longer signifies the meaning of the term’s constituent words. There is no sincere effort to determine whether the particular use of cultural artifact at issue indeed involves power disparity, the distortion and redefinition of culture. “Cultural appropriation” became just another epithet, another spell to be hurled in the arena of magic word racism. “Cultural appropriation” merely serves as a marker for the hurler’s ill intent, just as “chicken fried rice” was not a real word but a marker thrown to insult Jeremy Lin.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The pettiness of magic word racism comes from cowardice. No one, and certainly not I, would deny that racism is real. But if one had to rank the problems caused by racism, “gringos cooking Mexican food” must fall pretty far behind issues like race-based mass incarceration, or the overwhelming racial disparity in police shootings. Magic word racism stunts mental growth by turning the focus of addressing racism inward towards petty extremities. Peddlers of magic word racism are too cowardly to go out and fight, so they retreat to their safe space to kick the dog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It doesn’t have to be this way. Cultural appropriation is too valuable a concept to be wasted as a mere epithet. It is a sophisticated concept that requires careful nurturing, such that it would grow into an actionable set of norms. Boundaries of the concept must become clearer, and the behavioral requirements must be spelled out. And during this building process, it is absolutely necessary to be generous to those who fall on the wrong side of the boundaries that are only being drawn as of this moment. If your method of combating cultural appropriation involves creating a list of restaurants to be boycotted, you are doing it wrong. Prioritize conversation and persuasion over regulating behaviors and punishment. You can start by actually thinking about what cultural appropriation means, and what real life examples may fall within or outside the concept. We all could stand to be a little sharper, a little more rigorous about the way we use terms and concepts, because meaning of words matters.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-3864934263852342017-05-27T13:04:00.000-04:002017-05-27T13:04:09.943-04:00Once Again: K-pop is Not a Genre<div style="text-align: justify;">TK is happy to report that nearly all of the people who engage K-pop seriously--such as writers and journalists about the topic--generally agreed with <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/05/k-pop-is-not-genre.html">my post that argued K-pop is not a genre</a>. (There was one exception, whose objections I will address below.) But there were a number of silly responses about this point, so here is another try.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A different way to framed this debate is: is the term "k-pop" a descriptor or a term of art? In my view, "k-pop" is a descriptor, while a number of people insist "k-pop" is a term of art that denotes a concept. And they are wrong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A descriptor accepts the plain meaning of the word. For example, unless there is additional context (more on this later,) the words "a brown dog" are a descriptor, indicating a canine that is brown in color. If a person told you (again, without additional context) that "I just saw a brown dog," something along the lines of the following images should pop up in your mind:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kkKiP1N68t8/WSOGGFIfrDI/AAAAAAAABuM/0duewI_GmYw5uSAy6fB-MVee7sdnhu2PQCLcB/s1600/Brown%2BDog%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kkKiP1N68t8/WSOGGFIfrDI/AAAAAAAABuM/0duewI_GmYw5uSAy6fB-MVee7sdnhu2PQCLcB/s320/Brown%2BDog%2B1.jpg" width="319" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9n4dgcjwEiw/WSOGK_BKIQI/AAAAAAAABuQ/WEyMFE_16xIJI7D1SI_HD12suNWnud1mACLcB/s1600/Brown%2BDog%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9n4dgcjwEiw/WSOGK_BKIQI/AAAAAAAABuQ/WEyMFE_16xIJI7D1SI_HD12suNWnud1mACLcB/s320/Brown%2BDog%2B2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-savNDHGUxx8/WSOGPUtqtrI/AAAAAAAABuU/KFHrXBTWXEchAF4SrtTXhtrprsKNsVUeACLcB/s1600/Brown%2BDog%2B3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-savNDHGUxx8/WSOGPUtqtrI/AAAAAAAABuU/KFHrXBTWXEchAF4SrtTXhtrprsKNsVUeACLcB/s320/Brown%2BDog%2B3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the other hand, if this kind of image pops in your head...</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2omf0W4ewdw/WSOIWOGLNRI/AAAAAAAABug/gV2ZZBQ2unEmgxkXs9qJdlZJZhe5v37cgCLcB/s1600/white%2Bcat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2omf0W4ewdw/WSOIWOGLNRI/AAAAAAAABug/gV2ZZBQ2unEmgxkXs9qJdlZJZhe5v37cgCLcB/s320/white%2Bcat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">... then, there is something wrong with you, because this is an image of a white cat. No matter how you wish it to be, "brown" does not mean "white," and "dog" does not mean "cat."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This is not a trivial point. In the previous post, I wrote: "In our current, "post-truth" world, it is more important than ever to insist that words must mean what they say." I did not write those words as a gag; it is my sincerely, fervently held belief that <b style="font-style: italic;">words must mean what they say</b>, because the easiest way to lie is to pretend words mean something other than what they say. This kind of lie corrupts our thought process and pushes us into taking actions that we otherwise would not take. This is the central insight of George Orwell's famous essay, <i><a href="http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit/">Politics and the English Language</a></i>:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">"In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible. Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of the political parties. Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness."</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">This insight was what drove Orwell's dystopian classic <i>1984</i>, set in a world in which war is peace, freedom is slavery, and two plus two is five. A world not unlike our current world, in which the head of the state of the United States of America would blatantly lies about what is plainly untrue--such as the crowd size for his inauguration--and his followers buy into this bullshit rather than believing their own eyes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So. The word "K-pop" must mean what it says. "K" obviously stands for "Korea," and "pop" obviously stands for "pop music." This meaning must hold, <b><i>unless...</i></b> "k-pop" is a term of art, rather than a descriptor. And my point is: "K-pop" cannot be anything other than "popular music of Korea," because it is not a term of art.</div><br />(More after the jump.)<br /><br /><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at </i>askakorean@gmail.com.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">How do we know the term "K-pop" is not a term of art? Because a term of art has <i>boundaries</i>. Each term of art--if it truly is a term of art--denotes a specific concept. When people use a term of art, they are drawing mental boundaries, such that if a thing falls within the boundary, the term of art describes that thing. And if a thing falls outside of the boundary, the term of art cannot describe that thing.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">People usually draw these boundaries in some combination of the following three ways: &nbsp;(1) identifying the key characteristics of the concept; (2) identifying archetypical examples of the things that fall into the concept, and; (3) identifying archetypical examples of things that seem close enough to the concept, but fall outside of it. In fact, this is how we mentally categorize anything. A "brown dog" is not a "white cat" because "brown" is not "white," nor "dog" a "cat."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The boundary, of course, is not a hard-and-fast thing, as it only exists in people's mind. The edges of a concept always bleed into another concept that is similar, but different in a meaningful way. But it is a mistake to say the boundary does not exist. If there is no boundary, the term of art cannot point to anything.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's an example. In a case called <i>White City Shopping Center v. PR Restaurant</i>, a Massachusetts court had to decide an unusual question: <a href="https://www.quimbee.com/cases/white-city-shopping-center-v-pr-restaurants-llc">what is a "sandwich"</a>? The operator of Panera Bread restaurants had an agreement with a shopping center that the shopping center would not host another store that sold sandwiches. When the shopping center began negotiating a lease for Qdoba, a Mexican restaurant, Panera restaurants sued the shopping center under the theory that burritos, tacos and quesadillas can be considered a sandwich.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So: are burritos, tacos, or quesadillas sandwich? The court decided no, but this question riveted America's top legal minds. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Judge Richard Posner, two of the greatest titans of law in the United States, <a href="http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/textual_originalism_and_the_great_sandwich_debate_posner_reviews_scalia">bitterly fought over this topic</a>. Obviously not, Scalia said--because the dictionary says a "sandwich" is “two thin pieces of bread, usually buttered, with a thin layer (as of meat, cheese, or savory mixture) spread between them.” Posner retorted: "“A sandwich does not have to have two slices of bread; it can have more than two (a club sandwich) and it can have just one (an open-faced sandwich). The slices of bread do not have to be thin, and the layer between them does not have to be thin either. The slices do not have to be slices of bread: a hamburger is regarded as a sandwich, and also a hot dog—and some people regard tacos and burritos as sandwiches, and a quesadilla is even more sandwich-like."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Regardless of the severe disagreement between two of the greatest legal minds, however, <b><i>there is no question that there exists such a concept as "a sandwich."</i></b>&nbsp;Yes, it may be difficult to draw the precise line between "sandwich" and "not sandwich." Even very smart people can disagree as to where the line falls exactly. But fuzziness of the line does not mean there is no such thing as a sandwich, or it is impossible to determine whether something is a sandwich.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It may be unclear whether a hot dog or a quesadilla counts as a "sandwich." (In my view, they both are sandwiches.) But people can still employ the three strategies of boundary-drawing to determine what a sandwich is. Key characteristics of a concept called "sandwich" involve layered foodstuff, with the outer layer typically being made up of some type of carbohydrates, designed to be lifted off the plate and eaten with bare hands. An archetypical example of a sandwich is two slices of Wonder Bread, with peanut butter spread between the two; no one disputes that this is a sandwich.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To determine whether a certain food item (for example, a quesadilla,) should be considered a "sandwich," we think about what characteristics the food item shares with something like a peanut butter sandwich, whose "sandwich-ness" is undisputed. Although the precise line may be difficult to draw, we all know that there <b><i>must</i></b> be a line somewhere, because there are certain things in the world that we will never call a "sandwich" even if those things might come fairly close. There must be a line, because we know it is possible to cross the line. For example, no one claims that lasagna is a sandwich, although it is also layered foodstuff--presumably because it is not intended to be eaten with bare hands.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is how we approach any concept. Coming back to "K-pop": &nbsp;I will acknowledge that "K-pop" is a genre or a style--a defined concept--if anyone can show me: (1) the key characteristics that run across most pieces of music that people call "K-pop"; (2) archetypical examples of "K-pop"; (3) archetypical examples of Korean popular music that is not considered "K-pop."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">You cannot do that. So the natural conclusion: K-pop is not a genre, and the term "K-pop" must be understood to mean the combined meaning of the constituent words.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Compare this to, say, "Britpop." Britpop is a favorite counterpoint to my argument, probably because it is another portmanteau that combines "pop" with a name of a country. "If 'K-pop' must mean 'all kinds of popular music of Korea,' must 'Britpop' mean 'all kinds of popular music of Britain'?"--so argue the people who never thought very deeply about how concepts work.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Apply the three strategies of identifying a concept to Britpop. (1) Are there key characteristics that run across the music that people call "Britpop"? Yes--the music comes from United Kingdom, mostly in the 1990s, in the genre of alternative rock with an emphasis on British cultural themes. (2) What are the archetypical examples of "Britpop"? Music by Blur, Suede and Oasis. (3) What are archetypical examples of British music that is not considered "Britpop"? Music by Spice Girls, even though Spice Girls was also a British band of the 1990s. Using these three strategies, one can roughly identify what "Britpop" is, decide what British popular music falls and what doesn't fall under the label of "Britpop," and the trace the history and development of the genre.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Can you do the same with "K-pop"? No. Because what are the key characteristics that run across the music that people call "K-pop"? If you answer "highly processed music performed by beautiful people who were groomed by management agencies," you cannot explain why Gangnam Style is considered K-pop, nor can you explain why Seo Taiji and Boys is considered the fountainhead of K-pop, nor can you explain why Kim Wan-seon is never included in the canon of K-pop history. (I explained this in more detail <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/05/k-pop-is-not-genre.html#more">in the previous post</a>, so I won't dig deeper here.) "Britpop" is a term of art with boundaries drawn more narrowly than the meaning of its constituent words; "K-pop" is not. One could try to argue that the term "K-pop" has conceptual boundaries, but the boundaries fall apart at the slightest examination.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nearly every serious observers of Korean popular music that read my previous article generally agreed with my argument, with one exception--<a href="http://groovekorea.com/article/jon-dunbar/">Jon Dunbar</a>, who raised a solid objection: many Korean bands do not consider themselves to be "K-pop" band, because they are not part of the idol group ecosystem. Jambinai, for example, is a fusion band that plays rock music on Korean traditional instruments. Lee Il-woo of Jambinai&nbsp;<a href="http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2017/04/689_227119.html">has said</a>&nbsp;in an interview: "We are not hallyu. The Korean government supports K-pop or Korean dramas and these are hallyu. The government is investing a lot of money into it so many people overseas will know hallyu. But we have to promote us by ourselves with our money or less money from the government."&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I think Jon makes an important point regarding the indispensable role of the Korean government in the international promotion of a certain type of Korean pop music--the type I call "idol pop." But when it comes to the definition of the term "K-pop," he is wrong.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jon's error comes from the fact that he is based in Korea and is enmeshed with Korea's underground rock scene. Korean musicians in that scene say they are not "K-pop," because they are responding to <b><i>their</i></b> perception of how international fans use the term "K-pop." This is evident from Jambinai's interview also: "European or overseas listeners think Jambinai is just Jambinai, not the K-band Jambinai or K-whatever. They think K-pop and hallyu is "Gangnam Style" and idol music. But that's not us."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This, in fact, is a familiar phenomenon. First, non-Koreans outside of Korea are exposed to a tiny sliver of Korean culture, and call that tiny piece "Korean." Then, some Koreans within Korea, including misguided bureaucrats who want to promote Korean culture, see the usage of term "Korean" by those non-Koreans and produce awful "Korean" stuff. Then, to distance themselves from those awful products that are misleadingly labeled "Korean," other Koreans in Korea begin walking away from the word "Korean" altogether. This is exactly what happened to the godawful attempts to promote "Korean" food under the Lee Myung-bak administration. This is also what George Orwell warned: pollution of a word by distorting its meaning to serve a political end.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The disconnect that leads to Jon's error is the one between Koreans' perception of how non-Koreans use the term "K-pop", and the actual usage of the term "K-pop" by non-Koreans. Yes, non-Koreans have used the term "K-pop" to denote mostly idol pop, because idol pop has been the only type of Korean popular music to which they have been exposed. But when one observes the actual usage of the term "K-pop" by non-Koreans, it is abundantly clear that the term is not the same thing as "idol pop." When the international fans encountered Korean popular music that was clearly not idol pop--such as Gangnam Style--there was no effort to enforce the conceptual boundaries of "K-pop" to exclude Korean popular music that was not idol pop. When the international fans recount the history of "K-pop," there is no effort to trace the development of idol pop as a distinct strand of style that exists within the broader universe of Korean popular music. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-pop#History">The Wikipedia page for "K-pop,"</a> for example, traces the history of K-pop all the way up to the introduction of Western music in Korea in the late 19th century. Can you imagine how ridiculous you'd sound if you talked about the history of Britpop by starting from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadside_(music)#Broadside_ballads">broadside ballads</a>?)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Korean musicians in Korea couldn't care less about close examination of the term "K-pop." They are artists, not critics; it is not their job to carefully consider how international fans use the term "K-pop." The non-idol pop musicians in Korea rarely interact with international fans at any rate. On the other hand, production companies for idol pop happily peddle the word "K-pop," because to them "K-pop" means nothing more than "Korean popular music that sells internationally," which usually is idol pop music. So in Korea, a functional definition of the word "K-pop" emerged to mean "idol pop"--and Korea is the only place in the world in which the conceptual boundaries of this term is actually enforced in some meaningful way. Meanwhile, the people who actually use the term "K-pop" on a day-to-day basis--i.e. international fans--never actually set up any kind of conceptual boundaries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Admittedly, "K-pop" is a marker with low information value. It's like saying "French wine"--a term, to me, means nearly nothing, because I see the word "French" and only understand it to mean "of France." Because that's what the word "French" means. The word "French" in "French wine" tells me nothing about the wine's quality, flavor or characteristic. It doesn't even tell me if the wine is red or white.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I do know of people who use the term "French wine" to refer to "high quality wine"; such people, I found, have never thought very deeply about wines, nor have they experienced enough French wine to realize that shitty French wine is as shitty as wine from any other country. I found that the same is true with those who insist "K-pop" must mean "idol pop." Generally, though with certain exceptions as discussed above, I found those people have never thought very deeply about Korean popular music, nor have they carefully explored the boundaries of what "K-pop" means in their minds.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And that's fine! I fully understand music is no more than a hobby for most people. I am not here to pass judgment on the numerous people couldn't care less about genre or style of the music to which they listen. Please, do go listen to whatever you like, and be happy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">My point is only this: we all could stand to be a little sharper, a little more rigorous about the way we use terms and concepts, because meaning of words matters. Whenever we can, we must insist that words must mean what they say. That is the most fundamental way to keep one's mind clear in this cynical, post-truth world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having said that, here are some more Korean popular music that I like--because good music needs to be shared widely.</div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MYYXLw8jRD0" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CKU13kxQljs" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/R46KFu1bgoU" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GriGsVnfGns" width="560"></iframe></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div></div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-53792151598857700962017-05-20T21:04:00.000-04:002017-05-21T12:49:02.308-04:00K-Pop is Not a Genre<div style="text-align: justify;">[Before we begin, a quick note. TK is <b><i>so</i></b> happy to be finished with writing about Korean politics for now. Let's talk about more interesting things, like music! TK might just stick with writing about music for the next several months. Stay tuned...]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3U_Gahqi7jg/WSDdyRfac_I/AAAAAAAABts/SDPZknm-8tw3i7XUN2yWo4O-utkNMztrgCLcB/s1600/0520171235.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3U_Gahqi7jg/WSDdyRfac_I/AAAAAAAABts/SDPZknm-8tw3i7XUN2yWo4O-utkNMztrgCLcB/s640/0520171235.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster from K-pop Night Out showcase<br />from SXSW 2014. Now hanging on my office wall.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The point of this post is simple: "K-pop" is neither a genre nor a style. If you think otherwise, you are wrong. The rest of this post will discuss why you're wrong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To be fair to you who think otherwise, I'll say this: a lot of people think like you. Jaden Smith, for example, seems to think K-pop is a genre or a style.</div><div align="center"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><div dir="ltr" lang="en">And Yes I Will Be Dropping A K Pop Single In The Next 4 Months.</div>— Jaden Smith (@officialjaden) <a href="https://twitter.com/officialjaden/status/855187022763483136">April 20, 2017</a></blockquote><script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But you are still wrong. "K-pop" is a generic term that means absolutely nothing more than "popular music of Korea." If you ever thought about the term "K-pop" rigorously, and thought hard about the kinds of music and the kinds of artists the term covers, you will find that it cannot possibly denote a genre or a style.<br /><br />To start, the simplest overview of musical styles that fall under the label "K-pop" should make clear that "K-pop" does not refer to a musical genre. No one disputes that IU, BTS and FT Island are "K-pop artists," but musically, they share nothing in common. IU sings mostly standard pop, BTS performs mostly hip hop numbers, and FT Island, light rock. The commonality among IU, BTS and FT Island is not, and cannot be, music. Their only commonality is that they all perform popular music <b><i>of Korea</i></b>.<br /><br />Is "K-pop" a style then? A common alternative definition of K-pop goes roughly like this: "highly processed but easy-to-listen music, composed and choreographed by professional management companies, performed by beautiful young men or women groomed to become pop stars by the said management companies." But this definition is also wrong.<br /><br />Again, just a few moments of thought are all you need to see why this definition is wrong. First of all, the alternative definition does not actually define anything that did not exist previously. Identifying young talents and fastidiously grooming them to become pop stars have been one of the basic business strategies in pop music as long as there was such a thing as pop music. Motown in the 1960s was famous for it. The only possible distinction between the "K-pop" mode of production and "Motown" mode of production is... K-pop is from Korea. Once again, we return to the plain truth: the heart of the term "K-pop" is the fact that it is music&nbsp;<b><i>of Korea</i></b>.<br /><br />(More after the jump.)<br /><br /><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *</div><br />In our current, "post-truth" world, it is more important than ever to insist that words must mean what they say. "K-pop" plainly means "pop music of Korea," because "K" obviously stands for "Korea," and "pop" obviously stands for "pop music." Q.E.D. And in fact, that is exactly how the term was used when it first entered the English language. Most English speakers--i.e., non-Koreans--encountered pop music from Korea for the first time in the early 2000s, and called such music "K-pop." The term was essentially the equivalent of <i>gayo</i> [가요], the word Koreans use to denote popular music generally, without reference to any genre, style or era.<br /><br />In the early 2000s, virtually all Korean pop music that was available internationally were highly processed music performed by beautiful young men and women--which is why the alternate, and wrong, definition lives on to this day. But it is important to understand that the term "K-pop" was never used with any rigor. We know "K-pop" cannot mean "idol pop"--which is the correct term for describing highly processed music performed by beautiful young people--because there has been absolutely no effort to police the boundaries and actually enforce the definition. Instead, each successive wave of pop music that came out of Korea was called "K-pop," without any attempt to assess its musical style, or even production value.<br /><br />Take, for example, the manner in which the history of K-pop is recited. The common narrative usually goes up to Seo Taiji and Boys who debuted in 1992. This is not the worst starting point in the world, given Seo Taiji's massive influence over Korea's pop music scene. But... Seo Taiji and Boys was self-produced. Seo Taiji, Yang Hyeon-seok and Lee Juno composed their own music, choreographed their own dances, and directed their own music videos.<br /><br />If "K-pop" means "idol pop," why would the standard history of K-pop trace up to Seo Taiji? Why wouldn't it trace up to <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2012/03/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists-19.html">Kim Wan-seon</a>, a super-duper star of the late 1980s (only female solo artist who sold more than a million copies of a single album) who was groomed to be a pop star since she was 14 years old? Why not Kim Jeong-mi, who joined the studio of the legendary Shin Jung-hyeon at age 17, and became one of the defining pop stars of the 1970s? Why not explore the popular music production system of the 1930s, which also identified young talents and nurtured them into stardom? Answer is simple: because the term "K-pop" has never been about the mode of production. "K-pop" was always about "popular music of Korea"--which is why Seo Taiji usually is the fountainhead figure.<br /><br />(Aside: The real reason why the standard narrative of K-pop traces up to Seo Taiji is because, in the English speaking world, the history of K-pop is generally told by Korean Americans in their 20s whose memories of Korean pop culture trace only up to early 1990s. Overall, there are few English-speaking consumers of Korean pop culture who can remember the times beyond around 30 years ago and be bothered to tell the stories of the earlier times. This blog's series on <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/1998/02/50-most-influential-k-pop-artists.html">50 Most Influential K-Pop Artists</a> is my attempt to rectify that situation, and I have more coming--so stay tuned.)<br /><br />For another example: observe the manner in which new pop music from Korea is received. Without fail, every popular music coming out of Korea is treated as "K-pop," with no reference to genre or style or mode of production. This is why "K-pop" does not even mean "pop music of Korea," in which "pop" refers to the genre of standard pop. Again, when people use the word "K-pop," they make no attempt to actually identify the genre of the music they are listening to. Words like "K-rock" or "K-rap" do not exist. (And fortunately so.) The only thing that matters is that the music is <b><i>of Korea</i></b>.<br /><br />The ultimate test, of course, was PSY's Gangnam Style--the greatest K-pop hit of all time. Gangnam Style and PSY were nothing like the music and the performers that international fans of Korean pop music have seen before. PSY is a chubby man in his 30s, not a sleek and beautiful group of teenage boys. Although PSY formally belonged to YG Entertainment label, he produced his own music. Gangnam Style was funny and weird, rather than hip and sexy. And no one of any significance stepped up to claim Gangnam Style was not K-pop. No fan of Korean pop music expended any meaningful effort to separate Gangnam Style from the Korean pop music that they have been previously enjoying. Gangnam Style slipped seamlessly into the existing universe of K-pop music, and that was that.<br /><br />Since Gangnam Style in 2012, even greater variety of Korean pop music became available internationally--and to date, there has not been a meaningful attempt to set the edges of the term "K-pop," such that at least some popular music of Korea would fall outside of the scope of the term. For a quick example, check out the yearly lineup of "K-pop Night Out" showcase at SXSW since 2013 and the types of music each act played:<br /><br /><b><u>2013</u></b><br /><br />f(x) - idol band<br />Galaxy Express - rock band<br />The Geeks - rock band<br />Gukkasten - rock band<br />Jeong Cha-sik - rock band<br />Yi Seung-yeol - light rock/fluxus<br />No Brain - rock band<br /><br /><u><b>2014</b></u><br /><br />HyunA - solo idol, resulting from an idol band<br />Jay Park - solo idol, resulting from an idol band<br />Nell - light rock band<br />Crying Nut - rock band<br />Idiotape - electronic dance music band<br />Hollow Jan - rock/metal band<br />Jambinai - fusion rock/metal band<br /><br /><b><u>2015</u></b><br /><br />Crayon Pop - idol band<br />Epik High - rap group<br />Asian Chairshot - rock band<br />EE - light rock band<br />Eastern Sidekick - rock band<br />Hitchhiker - rapper<br />The Barberettes - light rock band<br /><br /><b><u>2016</u></b><br /><br />Zion.T - rapper<br />Mamamoo - idol band<br />Love X Stereo - rock band<br />Dean - R&amp;B<br />Haihm - rock/electronica<br />Bye Bye Badman - light rock band<br />Victim Mentality - heavy metal band<br /><br /><b><u>2017</u></b><br /><br />Big Phony - R&amp;B<br />Galaxy Express - rock band<br />No Brain - rock band<br />MFBTY - rap group<br />Hyolyn - solo idol, resulting from an idol band<br />Red Velvet - idol band<br /><br />You can see that each showcase usually features around six or seven acts. You can also see that, each of the showcases called "<b><i>K-pop</i></b> Night Out," held in one of the foremost music festivals in the United States, has featured the maximum of two acts that could be considered idol band-related. Did anyone complain? Did SXSW ever say the showcase was incorrectly named, or the showcase needed more idol band acts? Did K-pop fans at SXSW claim they were misled into watching rock bands when they came for their oppas? The answer is no.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</div><br />Just a little bit of reflection is enough to reveal that K-pop is neither a genre nor a style. Instead, "K-pop" means exactly what it says: popular music of Korea. Like all definitions, this definition would have its bleeding edges. What does "of Korea" mean exactly? This was an easy question when all of Korean pop music was created by Korean composers and performed by Korean artists. But the question will become trickier as K-pop becomes more global, and more and more international talents stream into Korea to find their place in the K-pop industry. Soon, there will come a day where an artist or a group of artists emerges, and challenges the boundaries of how we understand the words "of Korea."<br /><br />But that day is not today, and that discussion is not the one we're having here.<br /><br />If you think of idol bands when you hear the term "K-pop," it only means you don't know enough about the popular music of Korea. Because popular music of Korea is not just this...<br /><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8A2t_tAjMz8" width="560"></iframe></div><br />But includes this.<br /><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nR9Y0fHDPBE" width="560"></iframe></div><br />This too.<br /><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6mQGlyZ1VbI" width="560"></iframe></div><br />And this. It's my personal favorite lately.<br /><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xzqBwz33dkE" width="560"></iframe></div><br />And you can't miss this. Have you heard this one?<br /><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nfa9JPccPck" width="560"></iframe></div><br />And this too. Yes, I'm serious.<br /><br /><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/emoadwiK4TM" width="560"></iframe></div><br />And while facing all this great popular music of Korea, you restrict to mindless idol band music by continuing to insist that "K-pop" refers only to a single genre or style, you're not just wrong--you are ignorant.<br /><br /><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-24499017606515748222017-04-23T23:51:00.002-04:002017-04-24T19:43:53.555-04:00Korean Politics Viewer's Guide: III. The Candidates<div style="text-align: justify;">[<a href="https://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/04/korean-politics-viewers-guide-i-lay-of.html">See Part I of this series here</a>]</div><div style="text-align: justify;">[<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/04/korean-politics-viewers-guide-ii-parties.html">See Part II of this series here</a>]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here we are, the grand conclusion of the viewer's guide for South Korean politics. Part III of this series will cover everyone's favorite event in politics--the horse-racing takes on the presidential election.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This election features the total of 15 candidates, but we will only cover the five presidential candidates who are polling over 1 percent. In order of polling numbers, the candidates are: Moon Jae-in, Ahn Cheol-soo, Hong Joon-pyo, Shim Sang-jeong and Yoo Seung-min. These five candidates represent the presidential candidates for the five largest political parties in Korea.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Under Korea's election regulations, each candidate is assigned a number in accordance with the number of National Assembly seats belonging to the candidate's party. This post will discuss the candidates in that order also, although Moon Jae-in (number 1) and Ahn Cheol-soo (number 3) are the two front runners. All the pictures of the candidates are the official campaign posters for this election, the very same posters are plastered all over Korea right now.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Full disclosure: although I am not eligible to vote in South Korea, I generally support Moon Jae-in.&nbsp;</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>1. &nbsp;MOON JAE-IN [문재인]</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2012/11/koreas-presidential-election-part-ii.html">Read this blog's coverage of Moon Jae-in for 2012 election here</a>]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E8YgrbNPorQ/WP1rZUbeXWI/AAAAAAAABsU/QtrbVKaTuDM92DRi_RVQXCljWqHm2ucAQCLcB/s1600/%25EB%25AC%25B8%25EC%259E%25AC%25EC%259D%25B8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E8YgrbNPorQ/WP1rZUbeXWI/AAAAAAAABsU/QtrbVKaTuDM92DRi_RVQXCljWqHm2ucAQCLcB/s640/%25EB%25AC%25B8%25EC%259E%25AC%25EC%259D%25B8.png" width="438" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slogan: &nbsp;"Restoring the Country; the Dependable President"<br />(<a href="http://blog.donga.com/jonk78/files/2017/04/8543736471492437861.png">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Born: &nbsp;</b>January 24, 1953 (64 years old) in Geoje, a southeastern island near Busan, to North Korean parents who escaped the war.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Party Affiliation:</b> &nbsp;Democratic Party [더불어민주당]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ideological Position:</b>&nbsp; Mainstream liberal / center-left</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Current Polling:</b>&nbsp; Around 40-44 percent in a five-way race.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before Politics:</b>&nbsp; Moon Jae-in was a law student and activist who fought against the Park Chung-hee dictatorship. He learned that he passed the bar while being in prison for protesting. As an attorney, Moon litigated against the dictatorship along with his law firm partner Roh Moo-hyun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>As a Politician:</b>&nbsp; When his former law firm partner Roh Moo-hyun became the president, Moon entered politics and became Roh's chief of staff. Because of this beginning, Moon Jae-in has been strongly associated with Roh Moo-hyun's legacy, for better or for worse. Although Moon returned to his law practice after the Roh administration ended in 2007, he came back to politics after <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2009/05/retrospective-former-president-roh-moo.html">Roh committed suicide in 2009 amid a bribery investigation</a>. Since then, Moon served as a National Assembly Member and the Chair of the Democratic United Party, which later became New Politics Alliance for Democracy and then again became the Democratic Party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Moon Jae-in is considered level-headed and cerebral. Although he is not exactly a charismatic speaker, he has a passionate following of liberal voters who are galvanized by memories of Roh Moo-hyun, whom they consider to be driven to suicide because of the witch hunt conducted by the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration. Moon is also a relentless inside baseball-type politician who either transformed the Democratic Party into a party of professional expertise and meritocracy while repudiating patronage and machine politics (if you take the kindly view,) or into a party of pro-Moon Jae-in loyalists who would faithfully execute his goals (if you take the cynical view.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Major Campaign Promises:</b>&nbsp; 810,000 new jobs in public sector, such as police, healthcare and other health and safety personnel; transparent presidency and government; chaebol reform for anti-corruption.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>He Will Win If: &nbsp;</b>... he hangs on. Moon Jae-in has always led the polls for the presidential race, sometimes by an overwhelming margin. He lost in a close race in the 2012 election, whose final margin was 51.6 percent to 48 percent. Moon still retains most of that 48 percent of the voters who are eager for a do-over. Meanwhile, his conservative/centrist opponents are divided, and pose no realistic threat unless they find a way to join forces.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>He Will Lose If: &nbsp;</b>... he suffers a combination of self-inflicted wounds and conservative consolidation. In <a href="http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2017/04/20/2017042001507.html">polls that ask for a head-to-head choice between Moon and Ahn Cheol-soo</a>, the two candidates are essentially tied. Roh Moo-hyun administration, where Moon Jae-in began his political career, was highly polarizing. In a head-to-head situation where the opposing candidate attacks Moon based on the faults of Roh administration (and there really were many faults,) Moon Jae-in faces a real risk of defeat.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trivia:</b>&nbsp; Moon Jae-in likes climbing high mountains. He has visited the Himalayas four times and climbed up the Everest and Annapurna.</div><br />(More after the jump.)<br /><br /><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.<br /><br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>2. &nbsp;HONG JOON-PYO [홍준표]</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAzDoyqRxHc/WP1yBKO-6NI/AAAAAAAABsk/0eXsMfhS4D0_wS9yr6FZsVnY5Re-4hMyQCLcB/s1600/%25ED%2599%258D%25EC%25A4%2580%25ED%2591%259C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OAzDoyqRxHc/WP1yBKO-6NI/AAAAAAAABsk/0eXsMfhS4D0_wS9yr6FZsVnY5Re-4hMyQCLcB/s640/%25ED%2599%258D%25EC%25A4%2580%25ED%2591%259C.jpg" width="440" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slogan: "Protect the Free Korea; the Proud, Everyman President"<br />(<a href="http://file.mk.co.kr/raythep/N0/2017/04/201704170501441578120.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Born: &nbsp;</b>December 5, 1954 (62 years old) in Changnyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do, a rural village in southeastern Korea. His parents were dirt-poor sharecroppers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Party Affiliation:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;Liberty Korea Party [자유한국당]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ideological Position:</b>&nbsp; Mainstream conservative / right-wing</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Current Polling:</b>&nbsp; Around 8.5-10 percent in a five-way race.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before Politics:</b>&nbsp; Hong Joon-pyo overcame abject poverty to major in law at the prestigious Korea University. (He was the first person ever from his local high school to attend KU.) Hong became a public prosecutor, and made a name for fearlessly indicting and arresting organized criminals and cronies of dictators, including the older brother of the dictator Chun Doo-hwan and brother-in-law of Roh Tae-woo. His exploits were turned into a 1995 Korean drama&nbsp;<i>The Hourglass</i>&nbsp;[모래시계], one of the greatest Korean dramas of all time. The ratings for the series finale of&nbsp;<i>the Hourglass&nbsp;</i>was mind-blowing 64.5 percent, third-highest ratings in the history of Korean dramas. (For perspective: the ratings for Super Bowl XVI in 1982, the highest rated game in NFL history, was 49.1 percent.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>As a Politician:</b>&nbsp; Hong entered politics in the mid-1990s, partially because the organized criminals that he prosecuted threatened to kill him and his family. He joined the conservative party led by Kim Young-sam, the second president of the Democratic era., and became a National Assembly Member.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hong's political career unfolded in two phases. In the first phase, during the Lee Myung-bak administration, Hong was the head of the main conservative party. He was a competent leader, but eventually lost his position as the Lee administration tanked in popularity. Ousted from the politics in Seoul, Hong began his second phase as a politician by running, and winning, the governorship for Gyeongsangnam-do Province. Hong was also largely successful as a provincial governor, erasing the budget deficit and attracting major industrial project to his province. Hong's relentless conservatism was what garnered headlines, however. Even in the early 2010s when the&nbsp;<i>cri de coeur</i>&nbsp;of Korean politics was an expanded welfare state, Hong Joon-pyo received criticism for ending free school lunches and closing a major public health clinic in the city of Jinju.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Major Campaign Promises:</b>&nbsp; Stronger national security through deployment of tactical nuclear weapon and terminal high altitude area defense (THAAD); de-regulation and support for entrepreneurship; selective expansion of the welfare state to cover the lowest income household.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>He Will Win If: &nbsp;</b>... he manages to push out Ahn Cheol-soo and force a face-off against Moon Jae-in, who self-destructs through a series of massive blunders. Because this is highly unlikely, Hong is mostly seeking a moral victory. A moral victory for Hong is to win around 30 percent of the votes, which would save Korea's conservatives from total devastation while establishing him as the future leader of one-half of Korea's politics. In either case--actual victory or moral victory--Hong Joon-pyo must continuously attack Ahn in order to siphon off the conservative voters who are strategically supporting the centrist. Knowing this, Hong's main tactic has been to smear Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo as communist sympathizers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>He Will Lose If: &nbsp;</b>... if he fails to win 10 percent of the votes. This would be moral defeat that stands opposite of Hong's moral victory. To understand why, a quick explanation of South Korea's campaign finance system is necessary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In order to minimize the influence of money in politics, Korea has an elaborate, publicly-funded system of presidential election. For each election, the National Elections Commission (NEC) sets the upper limit of the money that may be spent. (For this election, the limit is around KRW 51 billion, or a little less than US $50 million per candidate.) During the campaign season, each candidate may raise and spend up to the limit. Now, this is the important part: after the election, if the candidate wins more than 15 percent of the total votes, the NEC gives the refund of the total amount of money spent for the campaign. If the candidate wins between 10 percent and 15 percent, the NEC refunds half of the money spent. If the candidate wins less 10 percent, there is no refund.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because Hong Joon-pyo is not independently wealthy, the Liberty Korea Party had to mortgage their offices around the country to get a loan to begin the campaigning process. If Hong cannot improve his current polling numbers--which is right around 10 percent--he is in danger of literally bankrupting his party. Even winning less than 15 percent would put the LKP in a precarious financial position from which it would be difficult to recover.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trivia:</b>&nbsp; In keeping with his image as a fearless prosecutor, Hong Joon-pyo is notorious for his brash speaking style. (Think Chris Christie, 200 pounds lighter and with a soul that is not yet sold to the devil.) Hong's loose lips create the biggest row when they reveal his casual sexism. Right now, he is in hot water because he wrote in his 2005 autobiography that he helped his friend getting a date rape drug in his college years. (Fortunately, the date rape ended as an attempt.)</div><div><br /></div><br /><b><u>3. &nbsp;AHN CHEOL-SOO [안철수]</u></b><br /><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span><span style="text-align: justify;">[</span><a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2012/11/koreas-presidential-election-part-iii.html" style="text-align: justify;">Read this blog's coverage of Ahn Cheol-soo for 2012 election here</a><span style="text-align: justify;">]</span><br /><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5YcENEt_5Lc/WP1zBUFs-cI/AAAAAAAABss/ctgjdX9J1Ow5Ka7z0J6Ik6i6sOkjNsTYwCLcB/s1600/%25EC%2595%2588%25EC%25B2%25A0%25EC%2588%2598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5YcENEt_5Lc/WP1zBUFs-cI/AAAAAAAABss/ctgjdX9J1Ow5Ka7z0J6Ik6i6sOkjNsTYwCLcB/s640/%25EC%2595%2588%25EC%25B2%25A0%25EC%2588%2598.jpg" width="439" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slogan: &nbsp;"The People Triumph"<br />(<a href="http://i.huffpost.com/gen/5244340/original.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: justify;"><br /></span><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Born: &nbsp;</b>February 26, 1962 (55 years old) in Milyang, a small southeastern city, and grew up in Busan. His father is a doctor.</div><b><br /></b><b>Party Affiliation:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;People's Party [국민의당]<br /><br /><b>Ideological Position:</b>&nbsp; Centrist / mainstream liberal in domestic issues, mainstream conservative in foreign policy (including North Korea policy)<br /><br /><b>Current Polling:</b>&nbsp; Around 30-33 percent in a five-way race.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before Politics:</b>&nbsp; Ahn Cheol-soo began his career as a doctor, but during his residency, became interested in a new kind of disease: computer virus. Based on self-taught knowledge, Ahn developed one of the world's first anti-virus programs in 1988. He then established Ahnlab, a software company focusing on anti-virus programs, and became significantly wealthy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>As a Politician:</b>&nbsp; As a successful start-up founder long before the word "start-up" even existed, Ahn Cheol-soo gained significant popularity in pop culture generally. When the whispers began that Ahn may be interested in politics, those who wanted a fresh alternative to the tired two party system welcomed him. When there was a special election for Seoul mayoralty in 2011, Ahn led the polls although he never indicated that he would run. Ahn then ran for president as an independent in 2012, and bowed out at the last minute while endorsing Moon Jae-in when third place finish seemed assured.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After the 2012 election, Ahn joined the main liberal party, but left to form his own party after a year and a half. The newly formed People's Party, mostly made up of the former Kim Dae-jung faction that was losing ground to the Roh Moo-hyun faction within the Democratic Party, won<a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/04/korean-politics-viewers-guide-ii-parties.html">&nbsp;a surprisingly good victory in the National Assembly election</a> in 2016. For better or for worse, the populist newcomer in 2012 has transformed himself into a skilled political operator.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Major Campaign Promises:</b>&nbsp; Self-reliant national defense through major expansion in naval and air force capabilities; strong anti-corruption measures in the government; chaebol reform, with harsher punishment for bribe givers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>He Will Win If:</b>&nbsp; ... he manages to push out other conservative candidates (most notably Hong Joon-pyo) to create a head-to-head race. A large chunk of Korea's conservatives--around 30 percent of the total electorate--will not vote for a liberal under any circumstance. A significant portion of Korea's swing voters also would not vote for Moon Jae-in if they are convinced that the Moon administration would be a reprise of the Roh Moo-hyun administration. If Ahn can pull off the delicate balancing act of attracting the conservative voters without turning off the centrists, he could pull out a victory.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>He Will Lose If: &nbsp;</b>... he falls off the tightrope. Ahn has been on a tightrope for the past five years already. He began his political career as a fresh-faced outsider, but in order to extend his political life, he joined forces with the oldest dreck within the Democratic Party. Although the result, i.e. the People's Party, was a rousing success, it is also exceedingly fragile. Each day Ahn spends with the People's Party, he gradually loses his luster as an outsider. It is no coincidence that Ahn's campaign poster, pictured above, does not show the name "People's Party" anywhere. Although Ahn Cheol-soo is one of the founders of the People's Party, he cannot afford to be the party to serve as his brand.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As a presidential candidate, Ahn's poll numbers are dependent on two, mostly mutually exclusive, groups: &nbsp;ideological conservatives who would rather vote for a dictator than to vote for a liberal, and centrist voters who are tired of acrimonious bipartisanship. Ahn is not a natural fit for the conservatives, especially when his People's Party is mostly made up of former Kim Dae-jung faction that conservatives loathe. This means Ahn must actively court the conservatives, likely by the tried-and-true red scare tactic that a Democratic candidate would sell out national security to North Korea. But if Ahn woos the conservatives too much, his centrist supporters may decide that Ahn Cheol-soo no longer represents a fresh alternative. No other candidate has as delicate a balancing act as Ahn.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trivia:</b>&nbsp; Ahn Cheol-soo is quite proud of the fact that he earned an MBA degree from the Wharton School of Business. In one of the televised debates, Ahn said he would be able to communicate well with Donald Trump, as they are Wharton alumni.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div><b><u>4. &nbsp;YOO SEUNG-MIN [유승민]</u></b></div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RDZXPoxVbqM/WP10osH-B8I/AAAAAAAABs4/YBEpFUqHEe0-7CEBgBGul8oZsqYC_YpFgCLcB/s1600/%25EC%259C%25A0%25EC%258A%25B9%25EB%25AF%25BC.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RDZXPoxVbqM/WP10osH-B8I/AAAAAAAABs4/YBEpFUqHEe0-7CEBgBGul8oZsqYC_YpFgCLcB/s640/%25EC%259C%25A0%25EC%258A%25B9%25EB%25AF%25BC.jpg" width="436" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slogan: "Show Your Ability!; A New Hope for Conservatives"<br />(<a href="http://file.mk.co.kr/raythep/N0/2017/04/201704170502341133449.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><b>Born:</b>&nbsp; January 7, 1958 (59 years old) in Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. Father was Yoo Su-ho, a prominent conservative politician of the 1980s.</div><div><br /></div><div>[Aside: four of the five candidates are from the southeastern part of Korea. This is not a coincidence--it speaks to the discrimination that the people from Korea's southwest (Jeolla-do) have faced.&nbsp;<a href="https://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/04/korean-politics-viewers-guide-i-lay-of.html">See Part I for the discussion</a>&nbsp;about the southeast-southwest disparity in Korean politics.]</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Party Affiliation:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;Bareun Party [바른정당]</div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ideological Position:</b>&nbsp; Conservative / Center-Right</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Current Polling:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;Around 2.5 to 4 percent in a five-way race.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before Politics:</b>&nbsp;&nbsp;After graduating from Seoul National University, Yoo Seung-min obtained a Ph.D. in economics from University of Wisconsin and began working as a researcher for Korea Development Institute, the government-funded think tank for economic policies. There, Yoo made a name for proposing aggressive reforms for Korea's large corporations and advocating for greater de-regulation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>As a Politician:&nbsp;</b>&nbsp;Yoo Seung-min entered politics as an economics advisor for Lee Hoi-chang, the conservative presidential candidate who lost to Roh Moo-hyun. Yoo became a National Assembly Member in 2004, and served as the chief of staff for Park Geun-hye, who was then one of the leaders of the main conservative party.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[Aside: it is highly ironic that Hong Joon-pyo remained with the pro-Park Geun-hye faction of the conservatives while Yoo Seung-min led the revolt. Hong lost his party leadership position to Park Geun-hye, whose chief of staff at the time was Yoo Seung-min. In Korea, as it is the case everywhere throughout history, politics is a strange game.]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Under the Park Geun-hye administration, however, Yoo Seung-min spoke out against Park's policies that, in his view, became increasingly more absurd. As Park Geun-hye administration sought to punish the traitor in their eyes, Yoo left the conservative party to run as an independent in the National Assembly election. Yoo Seung-min won, and victoriously re-joined the party. Then finally, when Park Geun-hye was impeached, Yoo Seung-min led the conservative Assembly Members who were repulsed by Park's damage to Korea's conservatism.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Major Campaign Promises:</b>&nbsp; Major expansion in maternity leave and public daycare to improve birth rate; reduced work hours and higher minimum wage; higher level of national pension and elderly care.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>He Will Win If:</b>&nbsp; ... pigs fly. Theoretically speaking, Yoo Seung-min represents the "reasonable" conservatives who care more about ideological conservatism without resorting to retrograde smear campaign of calling liberals communists. Yoo's terrible poll numbers show that in Korean politics, the number of such "reasonable" conservatives is negligible. Major newspapers are&nbsp;<a href="http://news.joins.com/article/21503399">openly doubting whether he will actually finish the race</a>, considering there is pretty much no chance that he would recoup the money spent for the campaign. A moral victory for Yoo might be no more than merging Bareun Party into either the People's Party or Liberty Korea Party in a way that allows him to retain his "equity" as a major politician.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>He Will Lose If:</b>&nbsp; ... he fails to leave an impression. At this point, Yoo Seung-min only has two things that he can "win": &nbsp;visibility as a major national politician, and a share of power in whichever major party that may emerge after the current, highly unstable four-party configuration ends. (<a href="https://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/04/korean-politics-viewers-guide-ii-parties.html">See Part II for reasons why this current configuration will not last.</a>) There is a decent chance that he will fail to win either. Yoo Seung-min will be considered irrelevant if he cannot even crack 4 percent. Assembly Members of the Bareun Party may revolt against Yoo if he cannot show them a viable path forward for the party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trivia:</b>&nbsp; Among Korean young men who are not particularly interested in politics, Yoo Seung-min is known as "that politician with a randomly hot daughter." Her name is Yoo Dahm [유담]. If you're curious, <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=%EC%9C%A0%EC%8A%B9%EB%AF%BC+%EC%9C%A0%EB%8B%B4&amp;rlz=1C1CHBF_koUS723US724&amp;espv=2&amp;source=lnms&amp;tbm=isch&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiTsuixl7zTAhWC5CYKHcqtAMoQ_AUIBigB&amp;biw=1126&amp;bih=818">here's a Google image search of her</a>.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b><u>5. &nbsp;SHIM SANG-JEONG [심상정]</u></b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XTCaGRaXQjY/WP11oUFCkxI/AAAAAAAABtA/lPOunl3wTHk2bsDwmVAOPT8JXmg5hY7ggCEw/s1600/%25EC%258B%25AC%25EC%2583%2581%25EC%25A0%2595.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XTCaGRaXQjY/WP11oUFCkxI/AAAAAAAABtA/lPOunl3wTHk2bsDwmVAOPT8JXmg5hY7ggCEw/s640/%25EC%258B%25AC%25EC%2583%2581%25EC%25A0%2595.jpg" width="440" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slogan: "Country where Labor can be Proud; President that Changes My Life"<br />(<a href="http://cdn2.diodeo.com/cdn/news_photo/2017/04/16/2176700-01.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><b style="text-align: justify;">Born: &nbsp;</b><span style="text-align: justify;">February 20, 1959 (58 years old) in Paju, Gyeonggi-do Province, a northern ex-burb of Seoul.&nbsp;</span><br /><b><br /></b><b>Party Affiliation:</b>&nbsp; Justice Party [정의당]<br /><br /><b>Ideological Position:</b>&nbsp; Progressive / Far-Left<br /><br /><b>Current Polling:</b>&nbsp; Around 3.5 to 5 percent in a five-way race.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Before Politics:</b>&nbsp; Shim Sang-jeong attended the prestigious Seoul National University and began her career there as a student activist, establishing SNU's first Women Students' Association. As a labor activist, she would get hired into factories by submitting an application that significantly understated her education level, and lead the organization of labor unions within those factories. As labor unions were a major source of opposition against the Chun Doo-hwan dictatorship, Shim spent many years as a fugitive while leading the labor movement from underground. She was eventually arrested in 1993 and received a suspended sentence. Thereafter, she served as one of the highest ranking leaders of Korea's labor movement.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>As a Politician:</b>&nbsp; Shim became a National Assembly Member in 2004, as one of the leaders for the progressive Democratic Labor Party. The progressive party gradually gained strength, reaching its peak in the 2012 Assembly election, when it won 13 Assembly seats under the name of United Progressive Party. However, it was revealed that there was a voting fraud in the UPP primary elections, which caused a massive internal dispute that led to a split of the party. Shim Sang-jeong led a splinter group to establish the Progressive Justice Party, which later became the Justice Party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">[Aside: in 2014, Park Geun-hye administration disbanded the remaining UPP on the tendentious allegation that its leadership were North Korean agents, which left the Justice Party as the only far-left / progressive party remaining in the National Assembly.]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Major Campaign Promises:</b>&nbsp; Expansion of direct democracy, including legislation by referendum and popular recall of elected officials; higher, progressive taxes that would be earmarked for welfare programs; chaebol reform through greater shareholder democracy; expansion of public daycare and greater benefits from the national health insurance.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>She Will Win If:</b>&nbsp; ... hell freezes over. There is no realistic path for her to win the presidency. Cracking 5 percent in the final tally of the votes would be a moral victory that Shim Sang-jeong will gladly take.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>She Will Lose If: &nbsp;</b>... Moon Jae-in loses narrowly, and she wins a greater number of votes than Moon's margin of loss. Korea's liberals already treat progressives as their petulant cousins. If it appears that Shim Sang-jeong caused the loss of Moon Jae-in, the most beloved figure in liberal politics, the backlash will be severe.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Trivia:</b>&nbsp; Shim Sang-jeong says she joined student activism because she wanted to date and found that activist boys were good-looking.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i style="text-align: start;">Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i><span style="text-align: start;">&nbsp;askakorean@gmail.com.</span></div></div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-74762190981786534872017-04-16T17:04:00.001-04:002017-04-21T21:17:16.692-04:00Korean Politics Viewer's Guide: II. The Parties<div style="text-align: justify;">[<a href="https://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/04/korean-politics-viewers-guide-i-lay-of.html">See Part I of this series here</a>]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The viewer's guide for South Korean politics continues! Part II of this series will take a look at South Korea's political parties and what they stand for.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now is a tricky time to write this post, because political parties in South Korea are going through a once-a-generation level of realignment. For the most part, the history of South Korean democracy had two major parties--conservative and liberal--with some minor parties appearing here and there. But the historic impeachment and removal of Park Geun-hye shook up the political picture in Korea like no other recent events.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Given this, the best way to understand where South Korea's political parties stand is to look at Korea's history of political parties, identify the major strands that flow through, and see how those strands match up with each party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So here we go.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Super Basic Stuff</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3NqbSK3n71s/WPJ3ii1Z1iI/AAAAAAAABrE/kVxq3M3xmRIbecZzu36xlkifc1x5YGvbQCLcB/s1600/%25EA%25B5%25AD%25ED%259A%258C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3NqbSK3n71s/WPJ3ii1Z1iI/AAAAAAAABrE/kVxq3M3xmRIbecZzu36xlkifc1x5YGvbQCLcB/s640/%25EA%25B5%25AD%25ED%259A%258C.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The National Assembly Hall in Seoul<br />(<a href="http://t1.daumcdn.net/news/201510/03/khan/20151003003425852dcde.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table>South Korea's democracy began in 1987. South Korean president serves a single five-year term.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Korea's legislature is called the National Assembly. It is a unicameral body with 300 National Assembly Members. The entire National Assembly goes through an election every four years. For the National Assembly election, a South Korean voter casts two ballots: one vote for her geographical district, and one vote for the party she supports. This leads to two classes of Assembly Members: 253 "regional members," and 47 "national members."&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The "district" votes are counted up and produce the regional members, who are the winners of each geographical district. (The election for regional members is a single-winner, first-past-the-post.) The "party" votes are counted up, and each party receives a National Assembly seat based on the proportion of the party votes it received. (For example, if a Party X receives around 50% of the "party" votes, Party X takes either 23 or 24 seats allotted for national members.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Korea, being a meaningful political party means having at least one seat in the National Assembly. (Thus, this post will not discuss Korean political parties that have no legislative representation, such as the Labor Party or the Green Party.) Being a major political party usually means having more than 20 seats, because the National Assembly Act sets the minimum of 20 Assembly Members to form a "negotiation group," which can receive greater budget assistance, have a say in committee assignments, etc.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By this standard, South Korea right now has four major parties and two minor parties. From the most conservative to the most liberal, the four major parties are: &nbsp;Liberty Korea Party (93 seats in the Assembly); Bareun Party (33 seats); the People's Party (40 seats); the Democratic Party (119 seats.) Justice Party has six seats in the National Assembly, and Saenuri Party has one seat. There are seven independent Members.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having six parties being represented in the National Assembly is highly unusual. For most of South Korea's history, the National Assembly only had two major parties: one conservative, one liberal. This was the case as recently as early 2016, as the Liberty Korea Party, Bareun Party and Saenuri Party formed the single major conservative party (called Saenuri Party,) while the Democratic Party and the People's Party were the single major liberal party (called New Politics Alliance for Democracy.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So how did we get here?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Really Quick History of Korean Democracy</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When studying Korean political parties, it is better not to get hung up on the actual names of the parties--because those names change constantly. A political party in Korea sometimes changes its name after a scandal, to demonstrate to the public that it is a new and different entity. (It fools no one, but they do it anyway.) A political party also changes its name when the leadership changes, to signify a new era with the party. (Again it fools no one, but they do it anyway.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because the names change frequently, even Koreans often don't bother with names, referring instead to "the ruling party" (여당) and "the opposition party" (야당). The best way to understand Korea's political parties, then, is to understand the various factions that each party represents. And the factions are a direct reflection of South Korea's political history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Republic of Korea, informally known as South Korea, was formed in 1948. Although South Korea nominally began as a democracy, it was in fact a U.S.-sponsored dictatorship. The first dictator was Syngman Rhee, who declared himself to be the lifetime president until the popular revolt drove him out after 12 years of rule. The second dictator was Park Chung-hee, a military strongman who ruled for 17 years until he was assassinated. The third dictator was Chun Doo-hwan, another military general who ruled for seven years until he was overthrown in 1987. And since 1987, South Korea has been a democracy.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1ilhckFmRH0/WPNxuCy3qVI/AAAAAAAABrU/lt0cjS6iOSUN6hXxeJTMYLDHEM6AwUGCgCLcB/s1600/6%25EC%259B%2594%2B%25ED%2595%25AD%25EC%259F%2581.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1ilhckFmRH0/WPNxuCy3qVI/AAAAAAAABrU/lt0cjS6iOSUN6hXxeJTMYLDHEM6AwUGCgCLcB/s1600/6%25EC%259B%2594%2B%25ED%2595%25AD%25EC%259F%2581.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowd in front of the old Seoul City Hall during the June Struggle,<br />the massive protest in 1987 that led to democratization (<a href="http://archivenew.vop.co.kr/images/2007-06/marked/76182-43555935014_5b2091e8_103.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This history means that, in 1987 when South Korean democracy began, there were four major factions within South Korean politics: (1) pro-dictatorship associated with Chun Doo-hwan; (2) pro-dictatorship associated with Park Chung-hee; (3) right-leaning democratization fighters; (4) left-leaning democratization fighters. These four factions would form four parties: Democratic Justice Party, New Democratic Republican Party, Unification Democracy Party, and Peace and Democracy Party--respectively. In 1990, however, the first three merged into Democratic Liberty Party, which would become the main conservative party. The Peace and Democracy Party would change its name to the New Democratic Alliance, and would become the main liberal party.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />In the quarter century since the formation of DLP and NDA in 1990, Korean politics basically had a two-party system involving one major conservative party that is an amalgam of former cronies of the dictators and right-leaning democracy fighters, and one major liberal party that covers from center-left to far left. I say "basically" because there have been brief periods during which either there was a minor conservative party (like Liberty Democratic Alliance that existed from 1995 to 2006, mostly made up of former Park Chung-hee cronies) or a minor liberal party (like the Democratic Labor Party that existed from 2000 to 2011, a haven for hard-line labor activists and socialists.) But because these minor parties rarely drive the national politics, a beginner observer of South Korean politics can safely set them aside until she is ready to dig deeper.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Korea's first two democratic presidents were conservative. The first democratic president of South Korea was Roh Tae-woo, a lieutenant to the dictator Chun Doo-hwan. (In other words, Roh was a former crony of a dictator.) The second was Kim Young-sam, a right-leaning democratization fighter. Kim Young-sam then purged the Chun Doo-hwan faction, putting both Chun and Roh on trial for their military coup d'etat. (Chun was sentenced to life in prison, and Roh to 17 years in prison. Both received presidential pardons later.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next two presidents were liberal. Both were broadly center-left, with slight variations. The first liberal president was Kim Dae-jung, who was closer to the center. The second was Roh Moo-hyun, who was to the left of Kim Dae-jung but still well within the center-left range. Then came another set of two conservative presidents: &nbsp;Lee Myung-bak, from the right-leaning democratization fighters faction (although Lee himself was not much of a democratization fighter,) and Park Geun-hye, who hailed (obviously) from pro-dictatorship faction associated with her father Park Chung-hee.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Park Geun-hye, as the leader of Saenuri Party, was elected in 2012, defeating Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party. And this takes us to early 2016--moments before the current configuration of Korean political parties was set.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Realignment in the Park Geun-hye Era</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even before the notorious Choi Soon-sil affair, Park Geun-hye's presidency marred by numerous cases of incompetence, disasters and scandals--chief among them the Sewol ferry disaster. Yet Park's support remained steady, throwing the liberals to an internecine squabble.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In early 2016, the main liberal party was called the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD). The word "Alliance" in the name refers to the fact that Ahn Cheol-su, popular independent candidate for the 2012 presidential election, dropped the independence status and joined the main liberal party--which changed its name from Democratic United Party to New Politics Alliance for Democracy to celebrate the occasion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The alliance, however, was not a happy one. About a year and a half after joining the party, Ahn began grumbling about how NPAD was not reforming itself enough to appeal to the centrist voters. (A more cynical take is that Ahn failed to wrest the party's control from Moon Jae-in.) Within NPAD there were two factions: those who were closer to former president Kim Dae-jung, and those who were closer to the former president Roh Moo-hyun. Moon Jae-in, the liberal candidate for 2012, was the leader of the latter faction. As Moon consolidated his hold over his party, the NPAD Assembly Members who belonged to the first faction anointed Ahn as their leader.<br /><br />After an ugly series of public bickering, Ahn Cheol-soo left the NPAD, forming his own People's Party in early 2016 along with the former Kim Dae-jung faction. The People's Party claimed to be a centrist party, which leaned conservative in matters of North Korea and national security while leaning liberal in matters of welfare state and employment. With failure of the "alliance," NPAD again changed its name to the Democratic Party--which was even more tightly controlled by Roh Moo-hyun / Moon Jae-in faction.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The liberal split seemed disastrous, as the National Assembly election was only months away. Liberals were in an open panic, fearing that the conservative party might win so big that it might even be able to amend the constitution. But as it turned out, the 2016 National Assembly election was when Park Geun-hye's fortune finally began heading south. Park's Saenuri Party collapsed from 152 seats to 122 seats, relinquishing its status as the majority party. The Democratic Party became the new leader with 123 seats, and the People's Party won expectations-defying 38 seats.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then came the Choi Soon-sil scandal. In the face of the most bizarre corruption scandal in Korean history, nearly half of Saenuri Party Assembly Members voted in favor of impeaching the president from their own party. The right-leaning democratization fighters faction led the mutiny. To them, it was already distasteful that they had belonged to the same party as the former cronies of the dictatorship they fought against--the ridiculous corruption scandal was merely the final straw. 33 former Saenuri Party Members walked out and formed Bareun Party, claiming a new era in conservative politics unburdened by corruption and connections with dictatorship. Saenuri Party then changed its name to Liberty Korea Party.<br /><br />In short, the tumultuous presidency of Park Geun-hye gave rise to two major conservative parties and two major liberal parties. This has never previously happened in the history of South Korean democracy.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Korean Political Parties Today</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This, finally, puts us to the array of South Korean political parties today. Below is a brief description of each major and minor party in Korea, in the order of their National Assembly presence. Please note that the description is at a very high level, and somewhat idealistic. In other words, the descriptions are what these parties generally aspire to be.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t_-N-3AWnu4/WPPbkMA5q8I/AAAAAAAABr0/7qDTFob4HCYV4skamhwnvdI50jII9CifQCLcB/s1600/Party%2BLogos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t_-N-3AWnu4/WPPbkMA5q8I/AAAAAAAABr0/7qDTFob4HCYV4skamhwnvdI50jII9CifQCLcB/s640/Party%2BLogos.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Logos of the four major parties in South Korea. From top left, clockwise: <br />Democratic Party, Liberty Korea Party, Bareun Party, People's Party (<a href="http://cfile22.uf.tistory.com/image/253CBE4958C77CB3168A3C">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><u>Major Parties</u><br /><br /><b>1. Democratic Party [더불어민주당].</b>&nbsp; South Korea's main liberal party, with 119 seats in the National Assembly. Broadly center-left, falling on the liberal side of nearly all issues that drive Korea's national politics, (which are <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/04/korean-politics-viewers-guide-i-lay-of.html#more">discussed in Part I</a>) except perhaps in labor market flexibility. Mostly made up of the former Roh Moo-hyun faction, led by Moon Jae-in.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2. Liberty Korea Party [자유한국당].</b>&nbsp; The main conservative party, with 93 seats. The mirror image of the Democratic Party, as it falls on the conservative of essentially all issues in Korean politics. Mostly made up of the former Park Geun-hye faction.<br /><br /><b>3. People's Party [국민의 당].</b>&nbsp; The secondary liberal party with 40 seats. The People's Party claims to be the more centrist alternative to the Democratic Party when it comes to North Korea policies, while maintaining the liberal stance in domestic issues. Mostly made up of the former Kim Dae-jung faction, led by Ahn Cheol-su.<br /><br /><b>4. Bareun Party [바른정당].</b>&nbsp; The secondary conservative party with 33 seats. Bareun Party claims to be the more "reasonable" alternative to the Liberty Korea Party, promising a clean break from Park Geun-hye's legacy of being impeached. Mostly made up of the former Lee Myung-bak faction.<br /><br /><u>Minor Parties</u><br /><br /><b>5. Justice Party [정의당].</b>&nbsp; Far-left / progressive party with six seats. Justice Party claims to be the progressive alternative to the major liberal parties, with greater attention to intersectionality and labor issues. Although it nationally has about 4% support, it tends to be over-represented among young urbanites.<br /><br /><b>6. Saenuri Party [새누리당].</b>&nbsp; Far right party with one seat. After the "original" Saenuri Party changed its name into Liberty Korea Party, the right-wing civic groups who truly love dictatorship formed the "new" Saenuri Party, and managed to recruit one Assembly Member.<br /><br />Again, this configuration with four major parties is highly unusual in South Korea, which means there is no guarantee that this configuration will remain this way. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duverger%27s_law">Duverger's Law</a> says a single-member, first-past-the post electoral system like South Korea's favors a two-party system. South Korea's experience has been consistent with that. While there have been many minor parties other than the two major parties, only one of those parties--the Liberty Democratic Alliance--managed to be a major party (i.e. greater than 20 seats in the National Assembly,) and that was only for a single election cycle from 1996 to 2000.<br /><br />This means it is unlikely for this four-major-parties configuration will survive for a long time, because the gravitational force will push the secondary parties toward joining the main conservative or liberal party. Although it has been barely five months since the conservative split, Bareun Party is facing a great deal of pressure to merge back into the Liberty Korea Party. Although the People's Party appears to have a stronger footing than Bareun, supporters of the People's Party are beginning to grumble that its leader Ahn Cheol-su may be turning too conservative as he is moving toward the center. (Part III, which discusses the presidential candidates, will discuss more in detail.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All of this means: we are in some volatile times, and the snapshot we have right now may not go on for much longer. Keep that in mind as you go on observing South Korean politics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-31147706953036428692017-04-08T01:46:00.000-04:002017-04-21T23:01:40.060-04:00Korean Politics Viewer's Guide: I. The Lay of the Land<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Dear Korean,</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><i>I know there is a conservative-liberal spectrum in Korean politics, but I have also read that conservativism/liberalism in Korea are not easily relatable to conservativism / liberalism in America. What are the major issues, and where do the different political parties in Korea come down on the major issues? I am soon-to-be a Korean citizen, but my Korean is terrible (I am only getting away with this because I am a Korean-American athlete that they want for their Pyeonchang team, so I am on the "special" citizenship track). I am very politically engaged in the US, but now that I am in Korea, I am trying to figure out WTF is going on here, and it isn't easy!&nbsp;</i></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><i>Randi The Ringer</i></i></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ask a Korean! has received a lot of questions from a lot of cool people, but this is the first time that the blog received a question from an Olympic athlete!&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the bizarre Choi Soon-sil scandal, people are suddenly more interested in Korean politics, as the presidential election is going to be held in a little more than a month. For those who are coming to see South Korean politics for the first time, TK prepared a three-part Viewer's Guide. Part I will discuss the basic lay of the political land in Korea; Part II is a brief history of South Korean politics that explains the status of different political parties today, and; Part III will be an overview of the major presidential candidates, their stance on issues and the electoral challenges they face.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So here we go with Part I - the basic political landscape in South Korea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; * &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The questioner Randi correctly noted two important points about Korean politics: (1) it has a conservative-liberal spectrum, but; (2) the spectrum is not the same as the conservative-liberal spectrum in the U.S., or in any other country for that matter. Of course, this is to be expected, because obviously, different countries have different political concerns. It would be ignorant and self-centered to expect that Korea's ideological spectrum would run on the same axis as any other country's.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many of political issues that form a dividing line in the U.S. do not in Korea, either because Koreans simply live in a different environment or because there is a broad social consensus over them already. Before we cover the issues that do form the fault lines in Korean politics, let's go over some of the issues that don't.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Issues that Don't Really Arise in Korea</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are the issues that rarely get raised in Korean politics, because not enough number of Koreans deal with these issues for them to become a political topic. Clearly, this list is not to say that these issues are not important; rather, it is only to say that these issues are not front and center in politics in Korea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Racism.</b>&nbsp; &nbsp;There are now more than a million non-ethnic Koreans living in Korea, and the number is increasing rapidly. But so far, racial discrimination (which is very real and very pernicious) against ethnic minorities in Korea is not a big topic, because few Koreans ever interact with a non-Korean on a regular basis.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Immigration.</b> &nbsp;Same as above. South Korea has a fairly restrictive immigration policy, and few bother to opine whether Korea needs more or less immigrants than it currently has. Although there is some low-level grumblings about how, for example, the immigrants from China are committing crimes in certain parts of Seoul, immigration policy overall is not a part of national politics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">-<b> Terrorism (except those from North Korea).</b>&nbsp; If you exclude the attacks by North Korea, and isolated incidents of South Korean citizens finding themselves in dangerous parts of the world, South Korea has never experienced a terrorist attack. So Koreans simply don't think about terrorism.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Federalism.</b>&nbsp; There is no equivalent to the European Union of which South Korea is a part, nor is South Korea organized by U.S.-style states that retain some measure of sovereignty. So there is no "Brexit" or "state's rights" type issue in Korea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Religious Strife (except "culture war" issues).</b>&nbsp; South Korea does have a variety of religions. About a quarter of the country is Christian. (Among them, about 2/3 are Protestants and 1/3 are Catholics.) About a quarter of the country is Buddhist. But nearly half of the country does not really subscribe to a particular religion--which means religion rarely becomes a political issue. To be sure, there are times when religion shows up a collateral issue. For example, former president Lee Myung-bak was criticized when his cabinet appointments included too many people who was attending his church. But even then, the gravamen of the complaint was more about something that looked like nepotism, rather than the president's religion itself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By "religious strife," I am excluding the "culture war" issues where people might take their position based on their religious beliefs. Those issues are further discussed below.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u>Issues for Which There is a Broad Consensus in Korea</u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are the issues that rarely get raised in Korean politics because there is not much disagreement among Koreans on these issues. Many of the "culture war" issues fall under here. Obviously, I am speaking in generalities--there are plenty of disagreements on a localized level, and at times these issues flare up and become a major issue for a few months or so. Once again, this list is only to say that these issues do not form the constant, make-or-break fault line in Korea's national politics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Free Market / Government Size.</b>&nbsp; The whole of South Korea is a giant middle finger to the libertarian economic theory that government actions are bad and free market must reign supreme. In the last 60 years, Korea went from being one of the poorest countries to one of the richest, all under careful planning by the government that engaged in aggressive economic planning. Having experienced this, few Koreans are doctrinaires about <i>laissez-faire</i> economy in the domestic sphere. For just about any issue, Koreans expect the government to take an active lead in addressing the problem.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>International Trade.</b>&nbsp; On the flip side, because the Korean economy grew by participating in the international trade, few doubt the importance of being a part of the international trade. Although certain sectors of the economy (e.g. agriculture) complain vocally about the need to curb cheap imports, retreating from global trade as a general matter is unthinkable to most Koreans.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Death Penalty.</b>&nbsp; Few Koreans get exercised over the idea, in the abstract, that the state has the power to execute the most heinous criminals. This also does not become an issue because South Korea has not actually executed anyone in the last 20 years, although around 60 criminals are now on the death row.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Abortion.</b>&nbsp; As a formal matter, abortion is illegal in Korea except in cases of rape, incest, endangerment of mother's health, or fetal disability. As a practical matter, however, Koreans who want an abortion can get it without much difficulty. No one is particularly unhappy with this arrangement.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Healthcare.</b>&nbsp; South Korea has <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2010/01/healthcare-system-in-korea.html">a single-payer health insurance system that, overall, functions extremely well</a>&nbsp;in providing affordable healthcare. While there are some complaints about how the system could be better, pretty much no Korean is stupid enough to think a single payer system is some kind of communism. (Remember - South Koreans do not have to look very far to see an example of how real life communism works.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Gun Ownership.</b>&nbsp; Civilian gun ownership is illegal in Korea. Even a hunting rifle must be checked in with the police during non-hunting season. Not-so-coincidentally, gun deaths are nearly non-existent in Korea, and the crime rate is low. Koreans do not feel the need to upset this situation for some kind of imaginary freedom of gun ownership, especially because <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2013/03/koreas-gunless-fight-against-tyranny.html">they have a history of deposing three dictators through peaceful protests</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Drugs.</b>&nbsp; There is no drug culture in Korea. This is not to say there is no drug use in Korea, because Korea does have drug users and addicts. But drug use in Korea is highly uncommon compared to U.S. and Europe, which means Korea does not have an elaborate culture surrounding drug use. So, for example, a chart-topping K-pop band would not feel the need to sing about smoking joints. Accordingly, Koreans never bother talking about drug legalization.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h0i62GnQoo0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Climate Change / Environment.</b>&nbsp; Virtually no Korean disputes the existence of climate change, nor do they dispute the need to protect the environment. Although coal mining once was a major industry for South Korea, there is no irrational sentimentality in favor of preserving coal mining. Many Koreans who live in urban areas must sort their trash into seven or eight different categories to assist with recycling, and they do so without much complaint.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yzZKIMHC07w/WOhVKzfN3UI/AAAAAAAABqc/1ie9aMEqZhMVdY2D5uOg3Mnub1jjtNiYgCLcB/s1600/Recycling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yzZKIMHC07w/WOhVKzfN3UI/AAAAAAAABqc/1ie9aMEqZhMVdY2D5uOg3Mnub1jjtNiYgCLcB/s1600/Recycling.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical recycling center in an apartment complex in Korea.<br />Notice the number of different compartments, each for a different type of trash (<a href="http://cfile221.uf.daum.net/image/24503C485566D16A1B4441">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>- China.</b>&nbsp; We are now entering a slightly borderline territory. Broadly speaking, South Koreans generally regard China as an important trading partner whose international politics cannot be trusted, because of China's expansionist tendencies that might reach North Korea. To be sure, there are certain localized issues in which Koreans are annoyed with China, such as the heavy metal-laden micro-particles flying east from China's polluting factories or (what Koreans consider) excessive number of Chinese tourists in certain areas who behave rudely. But there is no real conservative-liberal division as to how to interact with China.<br /><br /><b>- Japan.</b>&nbsp; To South Koreans, China does not inspire much emotion. Japan is the opposite; it inspires a ton of emotion, and uniformly so. Japan's colonial rule of Korea was a cruel, brutal one characterized by mass murder and sex slave camps. To be sure, Japan is also a major trading partner of Korea, and Korea and Japan share many elements of their respective popular culture. But there is near-uniform contempt against Japan's right-wing--which includes the current Prime Minister Abe Shinzo--as they drags their feet in recognizing the wrongfulness of Imperial Japan. Korea's conservatives are slightly more pro-Japan, but those attitudes are whispered in private rather than forming a political fault line.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />- <b>Same-sex Marriage.</b>&nbsp; I saved this as the last issue for this list, because this is the case that is closest to the borderline. The same-sex marriage issue is definitely becoming more prominent. But as of now, it is not yet a central and defining national political issue in a way that the issue was in the United States in the 2010s, as a solid majority of Koreans are against same sex marriage. While Protestants tend to be the most vocal in their objection (to put it kindly,) the ignorance and bigotry against LGBTs are hardly the exclusive province of the Protestants in Korea. Because Korea's LGBT population is not yet a meaningful political force, national-level politicians generally avoid this issue, as they have little to gain and much to lose by taking a strong stance in favor of gay marriage.<br /><br /><b><u>Issues in Korea's National Political Discourse</u></b><br /><br />Alrighty then--what issues <i>do</i> Koreans talk about? Here are the issues that form the major fault lines in Korean politics in a way that divides liberals and conservatives.<br /><br />- <b>Dictatorship Legacy.</b>&nbsp; Remember that Korea's democracy is only 30 years old. Most voting-age Koreans remember what it was like to live under a dictatorship, which ended in 1987. (Heck - I am only 36 years old, but even I remember what it was like to live under a dictatorship!) And the legacy of dictatorship in Korea is quite complicated.<br /><br />For those who never lived under a dictatorship, it comes as a surprise that anyone, much less a huge number of people, actually <i>loved</i> living under a dictatorship. This was the case in Korea, particularly because much of Korea's miraculous economic growth happened under the dictators. It is a naive assumption that people naturally desire freedom and democracy; many people would gladly exchange those things for a little more food and a little more security.<br /><br />Korea's liberals are made up of the more left-leaning faction of those who battled the dictators, while Korea's conservatives are an amalgam of former cronies of the past dictators and the more right-leaning faction of the democratization movement. Roh Moo-hyun, the last liberal president of Korea was a former human rights lawyer who litigated against the dictatorship; Park Geun-hye, the last conservative president, is the daughter of the dictator Park Chung-hee. (The next part of the series will discuss this history in greater detail.)<br /><br />The fight on this front is about how to assess the legacy of the past dictatorships, and how democratic Korea's democracy ought to be. This is the greatest dividing line in Korea's politics when it comes domestic policies.<br /><br />- <b>North Korea.</b>&nbsp; The greatest dividing line in South Korean politics in terms of foreign policies is the very very obvious 500 pound gorilla in the room, or more precisely, the nuclear-armed 500 pound gorilla located just 35 miles away from Seoul.<br /><br />North Korea is probably the issue that generates the most amount of emotion in South Korean politics. Millions died in the hands of North Korean army during the Korean War, and millions more lost their homes. Those who suffered in the war tend to become South Korea's conservatives, whose hatred toward North Korea burns so hard that they want nothing less than the total elimination of the North Korean regime.<br /><br />South Korea's liberals are less repulsed by North Korea; it was not North Korea that imprisoned and tortured them, but the South Korean dictatorship that squelched dissent by smearing its political opponents are communists. This led to different attitudes in North Korean policy--South Korea's conservatives are more hawkish, while South Korea's liberals are more in favor of dialogue and engagement.<br /><br />- <b>Regionalism.</b>&nbsp; This issue is a second-order extension of the dictatorship legacy. Because South Korea's dictators mostly hailed from the southeastern Gyeongsang province, they sought to solidify their support from their home region while isolating and demonizing the political opponents from other parts of South Korea, particularly the southwestern Jeolla province which produced the most prominent democratization fighters--chief among them Kim Dae-jung, who would later go on to become South Korea's first liberal president and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.<br /><br />If North Korea generates the most emotion in Korean politics, regionalism is a close second. The dictatorship rewarded their hometowns; the southeastern cities of Busan and Daegu thrived with massive seaports and heavy industry plants, while the southwestern cities remained an agricultural backwater. Because of South Korean dictators' deliberate strategy to demonize Jeolla province, Koreans from the southwest long suffered a second-class citizen treatment that is not unlike racial discrimination. The worst of this happened in 1980, when dictator Chun Doo-hwan massacred hundreds of civilians in the southwestern city of Gwangju when the city revolted against Chun's military rule.<br /><br />To be sure, regionalism has become slightly less of an issue in Korean politics as both conservatives and liberals have made a deliberate push toward making a national appeal. But because of this history, Korea's southwest tends to vote strongly in favor of liberals, while the southeast votes strongly in favor of conservatives.<br /><br />- <b>United States.</b>&nbsp; Koreans' political attitude toward the United States is an extension of the two biggest issues: &nbsp;dictatorship legacy and North Korea.<br /><br />For Korea's conservatives who so hate North Korea, the U.S. is the literal savior that delivered South Korea from communism. Particularly among the pro-dictatorship faction of South Korean conservatives (whose love for South Korean dictatorship stems partially from the idea that a strongman was necessary to defend against the North,) there is a quasi-religious worship of America, an angel of a country that can do no wrong. This U.S.-worship showed when Korean conservatives were waving the Stars and Stripes in their pro-Park Geun-hye rallies, confusing American onlookers.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iaO4_IhXkEE/WOjo7vC6EGI/AAAAAAAABqs/jAyl6F5n4_gWaPNpy2N7IvEGxT_2An0zACLcB/s1600/%25ED%2583%259C%25EA%25B7%25B9%25EA%25B8%25B0%2B%25EC%25A7%2591%25ED%259A%258C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iaO4_IhXkEE/WOjo7vC6EGI/AAAAAAAABqs/jAyl6F5n4_gWaPNpy2N7IvEGxT_2An0zACLcB/s640/%25ED%2583%259C%25EA%25B7%25B9%25EA%25B8%25B0%2B%25EC%25A7%2591%25ED%259A%258C.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pro-Park Geun-hye rally in January 2017. <br />Many people wave the Stars and Stripes along with Korea's taegeukgi (<a href="http://www.starseoultv.com/news/photo/201701/444248_271947_570.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Korea's liberals tend to be more skeptical of the United States. It would be an exaggeration to say that South Korean liberals are anti-American; the more accurate description would be that they're sober about the U.S.-Korea relation. They remember very well that the United States propped up South Korea's dictators that were imprisoning and torturing their political opponents, and they chafe at the fact that the U.S. military is occupying a very center of Seoul, turning what was once the heart of the city into a seedy row of brothels. When the push comes to shove, most South Korean liberals will agree that the United States is South Korea's most important ally, as U.S. forces are necessary to deter North Korea and the U.S. market is essential for an export-oriented economy like Korea's. But they will grit their teeth a little as they agree.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Welfare State.</b>&nbsp; In addition to these issues, South Koreans care about the more mundane issues of politics--like the economy and jobs. In this decade, the most prominent economic issue in Korean politics has been the expansion of the welfare state.<br /><br />As discussed above, few Koreans are doctrinaires about free market, and most Koreans expect the government to take the leadership is solving a problem. Accordingly, most Koreans are in favor of <i>some</i> form of a welfare state. But there is a strong disagreement as to what exactly the welfare state must provide, and this has been driving the political conversation in South Korea in the past five to six years. (In this election cycle, the big debate is about expanding public childcare.) As one might expect, Korea's liberals are more in favor of providing more benefits to everyone, while conservatives oppose. One of the liberal presidential candidates--Mayor Lee Jae-myung of Seongnam-si--went so far as to promise universal basic income.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- <b>Labor Market Flexibility and Unions.</b>&nbsp; Jobs are always very high on the list of concerns for a democracy, and South Korea is not an exception. In Korea, the job issue expresses itself as a question about unions and labor market flexibility.<br /><br />South Korea's labor market runs on two tracks, as there are "regular employees" and "irregular employees." Regular employees receive the full protection of the labor laws. Companies must provide insurance for the regular employees and cannot fire the regular employees without cause. The regular employees also have a right to form a union. On the other hand, the irregular employees are more like "at-will employees" in the United States; they can be hired and fired for any reason, and companies are not required to provide them with any benefit beyond their salary. (The hit Korean drama <i>Incomplete Life</i> is about the main character's struggle to become a regular employee at a major corporation.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The irregular employee system was meant to be a temporary relief to give more flexibility in the labor market following the 1997 East Asian Financial Crisis. Since then, however, corporations found the irregular employee system useful and pushed the conservative government to expand it. Korea's liberals, which owes a lot of their strength to labor unions, oppose those efforts, fighting instead to give irregular employees greater protection and a pathway toward becoming a regular employee.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-59718303311032425792017-03-27T00:58:00.001-04:002017-03-27T00:58:47.721-04:00The Bigotry Against Korean Democracy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3bDnK9h7ejk/WNiWOwOCTSI/AAAAAAAABp4/twicqrvdIFUhwrV2LNgKWyNxLz-PFBlIgCLcB/s1600/%25EC%25B4%259B%25EB%25B6%2588%2B2016%25EB%2585%2584%2B11%25EC%259B%2594.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3bDnK9h7ejk/WNiWOwOCTSI/AAAAAAAABp4/twicqrvdIFUhwrV2LNgKWyNxLz-PFBlIgCLcB/s640/%25EC%25B4%259B%25EB%25B6%2588%2B2016%25EB%2585%2584%2B11%25EC%259B%2594.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Candlelight Protest, Nov. 12, 2016. Crowd estimated to be ~1 million.<br />(<a href="http://www.wikitree.co.kr/main/news_view.php?id=281654">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The impeachment and removal of former president Park Geun-hye is a stunning triumph of democracy: an illiberal and anti-democratic president is taken down peacefully, in an orderly manner, pursuant to the rule of law. And for the most part, it has been received as such. Yet there have been a small group of critics who insist on spitting on this achievement.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, I respect differences in opinion if the differing opinion derives from a solid understanding of facts on the ground. But no—not these people. They uniformly advance two bits of criticism: (1) the impeachment process ignored proper procedure, because; (2) the Korean public formed a mob that intimidated the politicians and overrode the democratic process. These two arguments only reveal their proponents’ ignorance of Korea’s constitutional structure, and the actual events on the ground during the 17 weeks of candlelight protests.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two most prominent examples of these critics are Michael Breen and Euny Hong, who make their case in a similar manner. Breen, on the Atlantic, opened by questioning the impeachment procedure:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">Acting Chief Justice Lee Jung Mi said, her court building ringed by riot police behind a wall of police buses that held back supporters of the embattled president. “Her violations of the Constitution and the law are a betrayal of the people’s trust and cannot be tolerated.”&nbsp;</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">If this seems a little vague, it gets more so. Hearings by the court, another series of proceedings by the National Assembly that impeached her, and a 70-day investigation by a special prosecutor, have determined that Choi Soon Sil was indeed sent presidential speeches to edit. But none of these bodies appears to have established what makes this an impeachable offense.</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/korea-park-impeachment/519300/">A New Test for South Korea's Young Democracy</a> [The Atlantic]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Similarly, Euny Hong wrote:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">By US legal standards, Park's impeachment is peculiar in that she was ousted before even being fully investigated. Even the special prosecutors making the case against Park reportedly claimed they didn't have time to complete the inquiry and were denied an extension. (…) Though a Korean prosecutor alleged that Park had knowledge of this—and she may well have—what is significant is that the impeachment was pushed through before the conclusion of the investigation.</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/12/opinions/south-korea-america-different-democracies-opinion-hong/">The President Who Got Impeached for Being Embarrassing</a> [CNN]</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Both of these arguments are simply ignorant about what actually happened as a matter of law. Breen’s claim that the pronouncement by Acting Chief Justice Lee was “vague” is pure nonsense, when the quoted sentence comes at the end of a rigorously written court opinion. If one bothered to read the entire impeachment opinion—which I translated <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-impeachment-opinion-annotated.html">in this post</a>, by the way—it is impossible for one to conclude that the Constitutional Court have not “established what makes this an impeachable offense.” The Constitutional Court considered four arguments in favor of removal, and found three—abuse of authority of appoint public official, infringement of freedom of press, and violation of the duty to exercise due diligence as a public official—were not enough to support removal. The court, however, found Park’s use of presidential power to assist Choi Soon-sil’s private profiteering does not only violate the constitution and the law, but also seriously enough such that removal from office is warranted. All of this is clearly spelled out in the opinion; none of this is vague.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">(More after the jump.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a name='more'></a><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hong’s argument is even stupider—in fact, it is one of those sentences that are so stupid that you would be at a loss figuring out just where to start. (“By U.S. legal standards”? Why would U.S. legal standards even come into play when the impeachment is in Korea?) By referring to how the special prosecutor could not “complete the inquiry,” Hong is displaying a total ignorance in how the impeachment process under the Korean constitution works—because the special prosecutor is not the one who conducts the investigation for an impeachment trial.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The investigation and fact-finding authority for an impeachment trial belongs to only one body: the Constitutional Court. This makes perfect sense under Korea’s constitutional structure. Although it is called a “court,” the Constitutional Court is not a part of the judiciary under Korea’s constitution. Rather, it is a constitutional council that sits above the three branches of the government—executive, legislative and judiciary. Each of the three branches of the government appoints three justices to the Constitutional Court, in a manner that symbolizes the Constitutional Court’s role as the final arbiter of different branches. This is why the Constitutional Court runs the impeachment trial, because an impeachment is a dispute between the legislature and the executive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Under Korean law, a special prosecutor is an investigator for a criminal trial, not an impeachment trial. A special prosecutor may be appointed when the ordinary prosecutor may be conflicted from conducting a proper investigation. In other words, a special prosecutor is an <i>ad hoc</i> member of the executive branch, because a prosecutor is a part of the executive branch. So it would make no sense for the Constitutional Court to rely on the special prosecutor to investigate for the impeachment trial—because it would mean that the subordinate part of the government (i.e. the executive) is wielding the power of the superior part of the government (i.e. Constitutional Court.) There is no reason for the Constitutional Court to wait for the executive branch before ruling on an impeachment trial. You would understand this if you spent just a few hours studying Korea’s constitutional structure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;">Having convinced themselves of this stupidity, both Breen and Hong proceed to the next garbage argument: that Korea’s protesters were a mob that demanded this (imaginary) deviation from proper procedure. Breen again:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">As protests swelled in downtown Seoul last fall, and millions held candles in the street and dads hoisted their kids atop their shoulders to get a better view of history in the making, the establishment knew what it had to do. Prosecutors had to find a reason to put Park and others behind bars, politicians had to find the pretext to impeach, and, yes, the Constitutional Court had to find the justification to uphold the impeachment.</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">Hong is similar:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">Three deaths and 30-odd serious injuries were reported as having arisen from post-impeachment protests, but had Park not been impeached, a revolution with far more fatalities would have been inevitable. Her removal was probably the only outcome the Korean people would accept, and the Korean senate and courts knew that.</blockquote><div style="text-align: justify;">These arguments are not just stupid; by claiming (with no basis) that the Constitutional Court worked backwards to find some justification under mob pressure, they are positively insulting.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let’s quickly go over the stupidity first. It is laugh-out-loud hilarious that Euny Hong wrote the words “the Korean senate,” and the CNN editor let those words slide. Korea’s legislature is called the National Assembly. You can find this information in five seconds on Google. (<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=south+korea+legislature&amp;rlz=1C1PRFB_enUS511US512&amp;oq=south+korea+legislature&amp;aqs=chrome..69i57j0j69i60l2j69i61j69i60.8139j0j7&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">Here, I even did the search for you</a>.) Someone who cannot be bothered to look up the proper name for a governmental branch should not be in the business of writing political takes; the editor who let this laziness slide deserves to be fired.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now, the insult. It is slanderous to imply that Korea’s candlelight protesters were anything like a mob. Here is some perspective. The Women’s March was a big deal in the U.S. recently. The largest Women’s March was in Washington D.C., with estimated 500,000 people in attendance. Now compare: the largest candlelight protest calling for Park Geun-hye’s impeachment was estimated to be 2.3 million. The candlelight protests went on for 17 consecutive weeks, and each protest drew a rough average of a million people. Can you imagine the United States being able to hold this kind of a protest—double the size of D.C. Women’s March for 17 weeks—without breaking into violence? Heck, is there any country in the world other than South Korea that can pull <b><i>this</i></b> off?<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HyLf_90BCk8?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Really, show me where the mob was, because a proper mob made up of a million people would not have shown up 17 times. It would have shown up once, smashed everything on its way to the Blue House, and dragged Park Geun-hye to be hung in the middle of Seoul’s City Hall Square. What happened is the opposite of that. In the frigid winter cold, up to two million people gathered, raised their candles, sang, chanted—then cleaned up and went home. While clearly signaling their desire as citizens and voters, the candlelight protesters patiently waited for the democratic institutions do their jobs in accordance with the rule of law. They waited the National Assembly to impeach the president, and the Constitutional Court to lawfully remove the president from the office. What kind of a mob waits for three months for the representative democracy to take its course?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is absurd to think that after 17 weeks of peaceful protests, the candlelight protests would have suddenly turned violent had the National Assembly failed to impeach, or the Constitutional Court failed to rule in their favor. Actually watching the protest just once would have dispelled that silly notion. The main group of protesters were not the hot-blooded youngsters; they were middle-class professionals, working in the skyscrapers around the City Hall Plaza. Many of them brought their young children, showing them democracy in action. Middle class families with children are not the types of people who are getting ready to throw down when things don’t go their way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The organizers of the protests also obsessively ensured that the passion of the protest would not spill over into violence. For example, when they met police buses serving as a blockade, the protesters did not attack the bus; instead, they covered the buses with flower-shaped stickers that the organizers handed out, until the buses became beautiful mounds of flowers. Even more impressive—the organizers designed the stickers with Post-It Note-like adhesives, so that the buses would be cleaned up after each protest. It is simply not the case that this was a group of people gearing up for a street fight. (Given this demonstrated effort for non-violence, it is particularly insulting that Euny Hong would use the casualties from post-impeachment, pro-Park riots as some kind of evidence for the inevitable mob violence to come.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Let us be straightforward about what drives this kind of faulty analysis. It is bigotry, orientalism, <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2013/07/culturalism-gladwell-and-airplane.html">culturalism </a>run amok. It is the unjustified sense of sneering superiority that says liberal democracy for me, but not for thee. One can see this plainly from the essentialist bullshit about Koreans with which both Breen and Hong fill their pages—about how “[f]or centuries, they endured the rigors of a caste system” or Korea is about “ruling by the people’s emotions”. In their minds, Koreans are too backwards, primitive and beholden to their old culture to have a proper democracy. (Hong’s non-sequitur about “by U.S. legal standards,” in this sense, is quite telling.) In fact, it is not entirely clear how they expect a proper democracy to behave in a situation like this. Is a liberal democracy supposed to stand idly by, while its elected officials use their power to enrich their friends?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Facing the president who so grossly privatized power for the sake of profiteering, Korea’s electorate spurred the National Assembly into taking the precise constitutional remedy designed for such a situation: impeachment. Then, once the ball was with the Constitutional Court, Korea’s electorate made clear where the nation’s constitutional conscience lay. All of this was achieved in a peaceful and orderly manner over the course of three months, by millions of people who braved the cold, by thousands of organizers who obsessively maintained order. Few other countries can even imagine doing something like this, much less actually pull it off.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In other words, in removing Park Geun-hye from office, South Korea delivered the best example of responding to democracy’s institutional failure that is humanly attainable. It is a shining achievement that firmly established Korea as the finest democracy in Asia, and among the foremost in the world. And only the latent bigotry that occupies the minds of the likes of Michael Breen and Euny Hong would cloud one’s eyes from seeing the brilliance of this victory.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-60956962452027732662017-03-14T23:58:00.000-04:002017-03-22T15:57:20.099-04:00The Impeachment Opinion, Annotated<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GYliM9xNlFA/WMiipIMwDaI/AAAAAAAABpI/ndIxb5iiJ_oFqqswADIe_yl5qR14ibBDQCLcB/s1600/%25EC%259D%25B4%25EC%25A0%2595%25EB%25AF%25B8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="441" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GYliM9xNlFA/WMiipIMwDaI/AAAAAAAABpI/ndIxb5iiJ_oFqqswADIe_yl5qR14ibBDQCLcB/s640/%25EC%259D%25B4%25EC%25A0%2595%25EB%25AF%25B8.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Acting Chief Justice Lee Jeong-mi reads the opinion<br />(<a href="http://worknworld.kctu.org/news/photo/201703/245620_19184_2028.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Koreans did it. They impeached their corrupt and incompetent president, and the Constitutional Court sustained the impeachment to remove her from the office. It is a stunning triumph for Korea's democracy. The crowning moment of the triumph, of course, is when the Constitutional Court announced that Park Geun-hye was removed from the office. The moment was capped by a 20-minute reading of the court's opinion from the bench by Acting Chief Justice Lee Jeong-mi.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The court's opinion will not simply go down in Korean history, but in the history of world democracy as an exemplar of how an illiberal and anti-democratic president is to be taken down peacefully, in an orderly manner, pursuant to the rule of law. In other words: it deserves to be shared with the world immediately. The Constitutional Court usually provides an official translated version of its most important opinions, but the translation process usually takes months. So--I prepared a translated version of the court's opinion, with annotations for those who are not familiar with Korea's constitutional structure.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several caveats apply. First, and obviously, I did the translation myself and this translation is absolutely not official. Second, because I am not an attorney trained in Korean law, I may have gotten certain legal terms of art wrong. (However, because I am a lawyer and encounter Korean law frequently, my translation should be better than ones done by non-lawyers.) Third, the opinion translated below is the version that was read from the bench on March 10, 2017. Often, the court uses an abbreviated version of the opinion to read from the bench, and produce the full opinion later on its website. Because the full opinion is not yet available, I translated the bench opinion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The original bench opinion is <a href="http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201703101130001">available here</a>. Off we go, after the jump.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><a name='more'></a><br />The translated opinion is produced below. Important passages are highlighted in <b><span style="color: blue;">blue</span></b>, followed by TK's annotation in <b>bold</b>.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;* &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;*</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We will begin delivering the court's decision on 2016 heon-na 1, the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye. Before giving the decision, we wish to remark on the progress of this case. In the past 90 days, we justices have given our all to resolve this case fairly and expeditiously. We believe that the Korean people have spent a time of much deliberation and agony, just as much as this panel. Since December 9 of last year when this case was filed, we justices met for deliberation for 60 days, or every day except weekends. There is no item in hearing the trial or the decision that did not undergo the discussion involving every one of the justices.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;It is unusual for the Constitutional Court to preface its opinion in this manner. But clearly, the court gave this extra statement because it understood how important this case was.]</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have held three hearings for trial preparation, and 17 hearings for oral arguments. In the process, we carefully listened to the arguments by the impeachment committee and the counsels for each side, as well as 174 documents, 12 witnesses, five motions to compel production of documents and one request for admission from <b><span style="color: blue;">the petitioner</span></b>, and 60 documents, 17 witnesses, six motions to compel production of documents and 68 request for admission from <b><span style="color: blue;">the respondent</span></b>. We examined 48,000 pages of documents, and we also received 40 boxes of third party petitions.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;Remember that impeachment is a trial. The "petitioner" is the one who petitions for impeachment, i.e. the representatives from the National Assembly. The "respondent" is the one who responds to the petition, i.e. the president.]</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As all Korean people know, the constitution is the foundation of all national institutions including the presidency, and the people are the source of the power that creates such a constitution. This court deeply recognizes this truth, and approaches this decision as if we are a party appearing before the court of history. This court wishes that this decision today, issued pursuant to the authority delegated by the people, will end the national division and discord, and serve as the fuel for progressing toward the road of reconciliation and healing. Further, the rule of the law is a value that all of us must uphold, and cannot be shaken.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;This ends the court's preliminary statement. Next, the court begins by considering the procedural propriety of the impeachment.]</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We will now begin delivering the court's decision.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">First, we consider whether there was an error in the procedure in which the impeachment resolution was passed. We consider the argument that the impeachment resolution did not specifically state the facts that form the basis for the impeachment.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Under the constitution, the facts forming the basis for impeachment refer to the facts establishing that a public official violated either constitution or the law in carrying his official duty. Here, violation of the law is not limited to violation of the criminal law. <b><span style="color: blue;">Further, impeachment leads to removal from public office, not a criminal liability. Therefore, the impeachment resolution only needs to provide enough facts for the respondent to exercise her defensive right and discern the issues for the trial.</span></b> Although there are arguably parts in the impeachment resolution at issue in which the constitutional violations are not clearly categorized, it is sufficient to specify the bases for impeachment when they are read together with parts alleging statutory violations.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;This was perhaps Park Geun-hye's strongest argument, but the court rejected it. The attorneys for Park argued that the impeachment was procedurally defective by pointing to criminal procedure. Because the procedure for an impeachment trial is not spelled out in detail (since an impeachment trial is so rare!), there was a decent chance that the Constitutional Court might have fashioned a stricter procedural requirement than the one actually followed by the National Assembly. Because the court rejected this argument, Park Geun-hye is already halfway toward defeat at this point.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Next, we address the argument that when the impeachment resolution was submitted for a vote, there had been no investigation from the National Assembly’s Legislation &amp; Judiciary Committee, and only the indictment [from the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office] and several newspaper articles were offered as evidence. <b><span style="color: blue;">Under the principle of separation of powers, we must respect the right of the National Assembly to freely establish its own process of handling its affairs. Even under the National Assembly Act, it is the National Assembly’s discretion whether to conduct an investigation when an impeachment resolution is proposed.</span></b> Thus, voting on the resolution violated neither the constitution nor any statute.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Next, we consider the argument that the impeachment resolution did not have a floor debate. While it is true that there was no floor debate prior to the voting, <b><span style="color: blue;">there is no rule under the National Assembly Act that there should be such a debate.</span></b> Although an Assembly Member may notify to the chair of the Assembly his intent to either support or oppose the resolution and open a debate, there were no Assembly Member who expressed an intent for a debate, nor is it the case that the chair overruled any expressed desire for a debate.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We address the argument that it was contrary to the law for the National Assembly to hold a single vote for several bases of impeachment. <b><span style="color: blue;">In case there are multiple bases for impeachment, whether to have a single vote for the several bases or to have individual votes for each basis is entirely up to the Assembly Member who proposed the resolution. There is no written rule on voting otherwise.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><o:p><b>[TK: &nbsp;The court shut down several arguments by Park Geun-hye's attorneys that, basically, the National Assembly did not follow proper procedure to pass the impeachment resolution. This was a weak argument that had no chance.]</b></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We review the argument that a decision by eight justices, forming the bench ordinarily made up of nine, violates the right of fair trial. Under the constitution, the Constitutional Court is made up of nine justices. But realistically, it is inevitable for some of the justices to become unable to participate in a decision from time to time, for reasons such as the justice’s business travel, illness, or the gap between one justice’s retirement and the appointment of his successor. The constitution and the law provide for rules in such cases. <b><span style="color: blue;">An impeachment decision requires six votes in favor, and hearing of the case requires seven or more justices in attendance. An argument that calls for waiting until all nine justices to attend the trial, as a practical matter, is an argument that there should be no trial at all</span></b>, in a situation like this one in which there is a controversy as to whether the acting president may nominate the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. This results in prolonging the constitutional crisis occasioned by the suspension of the president’s authority pursuant to the impeachment resolution. As long as there is no violation of the constitution or the law in hearing and deciding the case with eight justices, the Constitutional Court cannot allow the constitutional crisis to continue in neglect.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;The Constitutional Court has nine justices who serve six year terms, and the term for Chief Justice Park Han-cheol was over in the middle of the impeachment trial--which is why the Acting Chief Justice Lee Jeong-mi delivered the opinion. But the argument that an eight-justice bench was not supposed to hold the trial was a frivolous one, since there is a clear rule that establishes seven justices as a quorum.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Therefore, <b><span style="color: blue;">there is no violation of the constitution or the laws in the National Assembly’s vote approving the impeachment resolution, nor is there any other error in the requirements of the law.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;Thus concludes the court's discussion of the procedural issues for the impeachment trial. The court found all proper procedures were followed. Next, the court discusses the merits of the trial.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Now, we review the bases for impeachment. We examine each basis in turn, to consider whether the respondent violated the constitution or the law as she carried out her official duties.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;The impeachment resolution named five violations of constitution and four violations of statute. The court grouped those violations into four groups.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: blue;">We consider the claim that the respondent abused her authority to appoint public official,</span></b> violating the essence of the career civil service system. Based on the respondent’s direction, Bureau Chief Roh [Tae-gang] and Section Chief Jin [Jae-su] of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) received adverse treatment in their promotion, which lead Roh to retire. Former Minister of MCST Yoo Jin-ryong was also relieved of his duty. We recognize the fact that Kim Gi-chun, chief of staff to the president, ordered the Vice Minister of MCST to receive resignation letters from six Class-1 public officials, and relieved three of the officials of their duties. <b><span style="color: blue;">However, the sum of the evidence appearing in this case is insufficient to establish that the respondent punished Bureau Chief Roh and Section Chief Jin because they were interfering with Choi Seo-won’s pursuit of private gains.</span></b> Further, the reasons for Minister Yoo’s relief, and Kim Gi-chun’s receipt of six resignation letters, likewise remain unclear.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;First argument for impeachment was that Park Geun-hye abused her authority to appoint public officials. This argument lost. You can see here that the court is requiring a very high evidentiary standard; there was a great deal of circumstantial evidence, but the court rejected them as insufficient. This is a wise choice, because an impeachment is not something to be achieved too easily.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">We consider the claim that the respondent infringed upon the freedom of press. <b><span style="color: blue;">The petitioner argues that the respondent applied pressure to terminate the head of Segye Ilbo.</span></b> The court recognizes the fact that Segye Ilbo reported on the Jeong Yun-hoe Report composed by Office of the Chief of Civil Affairs of the Blue House; that the respondent, in response to Segye Ilbo’s coverage, criticized the document leak, stating that leaking Blue House documents is an act of upending the national order and that the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office must investigate thoroughly. <b><span style="color: blue;">However, the sum of all evidence appearing in this case does not clearly establish specifically who applied pressure to Segye Ilbo, and there is no evidence that the respondent was involved.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;Second argument loses also. This argument had less evidence than the first one, so not very surprising that it met the same result.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Next, we consider <b><span style="color: blue;">the alleged violation of the duty to protect life and the duty to exercise due diligence as a public official. On April 16, 2014, the Sewol ferry sank, tragically claiming 304 lives. At the time, the respondent remained at her residence. </span></b>The constitution provides that the nation recognizes the fundamental and inviolable human rights belonging to each individual, and has the duty to guarantee such rights. As the sinking of the Sewol was a tragedy that greatly shocked and pained all Koreans, no word would be enough to console the victims. The respondent has the duty to exercise her authority and carry out the duties of her office in order for the nation to faithfully execute its duty to protect the people’s lives and bodily safety. However, even in the case of a disaster in which people’s lives are threatened, it is difficult to find that a specific and particular duty to act, such as the respondent’s personal participation in the rescue effort, arises. In addition, the respondent has the duty to exercise her due diligence in carrying out the duties of her office as the president. But because the concept of due diligence is relative and abstract, it is difficult to impeach based on a violation of such an abstract duty as duly diligent carriage of duties. <b><span style="color: blue;">Previously, the Constitutional Court already held that, because the president’s duty to exercise due diligence in carrying out his duty cannot be accomplished as a matter of rule, it cannot be subject to a jurisprudential judgment</span></b>, and that the existence of due diligence in carrying out the presidential duties in times of political incompetence or errors in policy decisions, by themselves, cannot serve as a basis for impeachment. Although the Sewol disaster could not be more terrible, whether the respondent diligently carried out her duties on the day of the tragedy is not a subject for determination in an impeachment trial.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;The third argument was about Park Geun-hye's failure to respond properly to the Sewol ferry disaster. Although this argument had a great deal of emotional resonance, as a legal matter it was a non-starter. As the court explains in the opinion, the Constitutional Court already established in a previous case (namely, the impeachment trial of President Roh Moo-hyun in 2004) that incompetence is not an impeachable offense.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>At this point, the pro-impeachment arguments went 0-for-3. Deep breaths were held everywhere in Korea. The fourth argument was the true meat of the case: Park Geun-hye's privitization of power for the benefit of Choi Soon-sil.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Now, we review the issue of the respondent’s permitting <b><span style="color: blue;">Choi Seo-won</span></b> to interfere with government affairs and abuse of authority.&nbsp;<b>[TK: &nbsp;Because Choi Soon-sil legally changed her name to Choi Seo-won in 2014, the court refers to her by her legal name.]&nbsp;</b>Staff Secretary Jeong Ho-seong generally delivered to the respondent the documents to be reported to the president. From January 2013 to April 2016, Jeong Ho-seong delivered to Choi Seo-won documents containing government confidentiality, such as reports on appointments, reports for cabinet meetings, itinerary for the presidential travels abroad, preparatory documents for meeting with the U.S. Secretary of State, and so on. <b><span style="color: blue;">Choi Seo-won reviewed the documents and intervened in governmental activities by giving her opinion, editing the contents of the documents or adjusting the respondent’s schedule.</span></b> Choi Seo-won also recommended candidates for public offices, some of whom assisted in Choi’s pursuit of wealth. The respondent received a request from Choi Seo-won to form an inroad for KD Corporation, an auto parts manufacturer, to supply for a major corporation. The respondent had An Jong-beom to request the transaction to Hyundai Motor Group. The respondent directed An Jong-beom to establish foundations related to culture and sports, leading to the establishment of Mir Foundation and K-Sports Foundation, funded by major corporations who provided KRW 48.6 billion and KRW 28.8 billion respectively. <b><span style="color: blue;">But it was the respondent and Choi Seo-won who made all decisions as to the operation of the two foundations, including hiring and firing officers, implementing projects, spending its budget and making business decisions; the corporations that provided the funds had no say.</span></b> Shortly before Mir Foundation was established, Choi Seo-won founded and operated Playground, an advertisement company. Choi dominated Mir through its executives that she recommended, and profited by having them enter into a service contract with her own company Playground. Further, pursuant to Choi Seo-won’s request, the respondent, through An Jong-beom, demanded Korea Telecom (KT) to hire two particular individuals to work in advertisement. Thereafter, Playground was selected as KT’s advertisement agency, winning advertisement contracts worth KRW 6.8 billion. In addition, An Jong-beom provided introductory materials for Playground to Hyundai Motors Group under the respondent’s direction, and Hyundai Motors and Kia Motors awarded a KRW 900 million contract for Playground, a company with very little history. Meanwhile, Choi Seo-won established The Blue K a day before K-Sports’ foundation. Choi hired Roh Seung-il and Park Heon-yeong as employees for K-Sports, ordering them to enter into a service contract with The Blue K. The respondent, through An Jong-beom, had Grand Korea Leisure and POSCO to found sports teams, whose players would be managed by The Blue K as their agent. Through Vice Minister Kim Jong of the MCST, Choi Seo-won obtained an internal document for MCST regarding the reform plans for local sports clubs, and devised a plan for K-Sports to intervene for the purpose of profiting The Blue K. Also, the respondent had a one-on-one meeting with the chairman of Lotte Group and demanded money to build sports facility in Hanam-si for strategic promotion of promising athletes; accordingly, Lotte sent KRW 7 billion to K-Sports.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;This long recitation of facts regarding Park Geun-hye's involvement in Choi Soon-sil's corruption is a sign that the court is about to dig deep into this issue. To be removed from office, Park Geun-hye must be found to have <i>seriously</i> violated the constitution and the law.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Next, we consider whether such actions by the respondents violate the constitution and the law. The constitution declares the duty of the public official to actualize the public good by designating public officials as “servants for all people.” Such duties are specified through the National Public Officials Act and Public Official Ethics Act. <b><span style="color: blue;">The action by the respondent is an abuse of the president’s stature and authority for Choi Seo-won’s profit; it cannot be considered a fair administration of the duties of the office, and violates the constitution, the National Public Officials Act and Public Official Ethics Act.</span></b>Further, the respondent’s action of directly and indirectly assisting Choi Seo-won’s profiteering violated the corporations’ right for property and their freedom to operate their business. Also, the leak of numerous confidential documents to Choi Seo-won based on the respondent’s direction or neglect violates the duty of confidentiality under the National Public Officials Act.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;A big setup by the court, as it specifies exactly what law Park Geun-hye violated. But are those violations serious enough? Here it comes...]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: blue;">We consider whether the respondent’s violations of the law are sufficiently serious for removal.</span></b> The president must not only exercise her authority pursuant to the constitution and the laws, but also transparently disclose her carriage of duties to be assessed by the people. But the respondent tightly hid Choi Seo-won’s interference with governmental policies, denied any interference each time when questions arose, and denounced the fact that questions were raised. Accordingly, constitutional institutions such as the National Assembly could not check her actions, nor could the press monitor her behavior. Further, the respondent intervened and assisted Choi Seo-won’s private profiteering by establishing Mir and K-Sports Foundations and assisting Playground, The Blue K and KD Corporation. The respondent’s violation of the constitution and the law occurred consistently throughout her administration, and despite the criticism from the National Assembly and the press, the respondent hid the facts and punished the dissenters. Consequentially, those who followed the respondent’s directions, including An Jong-beom, Kim Jong, Jeong Ho-seong, were arrested and indicted for corruption. <b><span style="color: blue;">Such violations of the constitution and the law by the respondent damaged the principle of representative democracy and the rule of law.</span></b> Although the respondent in her public statements promised to cooperate fully in ascertaining the truth, she failed to cooperate with the investigation by the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and the Special Prosecutor, and refused to allow the Blue House to be searched. In reviewing the series of remarks by the respondent in relation to the bases for impeachment, we cannot find the resolve to uphold the constitution such that the violations of the law will not be repeated.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Therefore, as the respondent’s violations of the constitution and the law betrayed the people’s trust, <b><span style="color: blue;">they are serious violations of the law that cannot be condoned from the perspective of upholding the constitution.</span></b> As the respondent’s violation of the law significantly and negatively impacts and influences the constitutional order, the gains of upholding the constitution by removing the respondent from her office is overwhelmingly great.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">Accordingly, by unanimous opinion of all justices, the court hereby issues the order:<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><span style="color: blue;">The respondent, President Park Geun-hye, is removed from the office.</span></b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>[TK: &nbsp;BOOM. There it goes, in one-two-three step: (1) Park Geun-hye used her power to help Choi Soon-sil's profiteering; (2) such use of power violates the constitution and the law, and; (3) the violations were serious enough to merit removal from the office.&nbsp;</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>Overall, the court's opinion is principled and disciplined. It painstakingly established in the beginning that all procedures were proper. The opinion also set up a high evidentiary standard and did not budge from the standard. The court aggressively pruned off the weaker grounds for impeachment, and focused on the strongest one: Park Geun-hye's assistance of Choi Soon-sil's profiteering. Note that the decision was not even about the claim that Park herself profited from bribery; rather, it is that Park abused her power to help Choi Soon-sil profit. This much is factually irrefutable, and inarguably in violation of the constitution and the law. It is a sound judicial practice for a court to make a major decision based on the strongest and narrowest grounds, so that the legitimacy of the decision would be beyond reproach.</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><b>And just like that, Park Geun-hye was no longer the president of the Republic of Korea. A historic achievement.]</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-10099841138566837562017-03-05T21:35:00.000-05:002017-03-05T21:35:36.847-05:00Honorifics: Not as Complicated as You Think<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckotqGyptHY/WLy3K12vSYI/AAAAAAAABos/UjO2QNw3S_02_yN2A0HAvtc0xgnug1xzACLcB/s1600/%25EC%25A1%25B4%25EB%258C%2593%25EB%25A7%2590.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ckotqGyptHY/WLy3K12vSYI/AAAAAAAABos/UjO2QNw3S_02_yN2A0HAvtc0xgnug1xzACLcB/s1600/%25EC%25A1%25B4%25EB%258C%2593%25EB%25A7%2590.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://premium.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2014/04/06/2014040602737.html">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Dear Korean,</i></div><i><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>How do you address your seonbae when you're not at work? I mean I know I will still refer to him/her as seonbae and at the beginning we will both use formal language, but what happens if he/she wants to drop the honorifcs? If we are, for example, out for a drink and we want to talk in a casual manner what happens if my seonbae is younger than me? Will they now call me unnie/nuna? And if so, aren't they supposed to use honorific language towards me?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Really Confused Polish Girl</i></div></i><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Honorifics in Korean language confuse most non-Koreans. They are generally aware that honorifics exist in Korea, and there are certain rules as to how the honorifics are used. Because honorifics--at least, the kind that is as complicated as Korea's--don't really exist in most languages, it is difficult for non-Koreans to imagine how honorifics are supposed to be used in real life. They can try to learn the rules, but it only confuses them more because they can easily come up with a situation where two rules conflict with each other--like the questioner here.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In reality, honorifics is not that complicated. As a practical matter, there is only one default rule: between two adults, polite speech is used, especially if they are meeting for the first time. The age difference between the two adults does not matter. The social relationship between the two adults does not matter. <b>Between two adults, polite speech is used. </b>If you are visiting Korea and you are not entirely sure about your honorific rules, this is all you need to remember. In fact, it is not strange at all for an adult to use the polite speech to a <i>child</i> that he is meeting for the first time.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If you have room in your head for one more rule, here it is: &nbsp;<b>if two adults want to break away from the default, they can work it out between them</b>. These are the only two rules that you really need to know about honorifics.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Seeing how this plays out in real life situation makes it much easier to understand. Below are some real life situations that TK encountered recently.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scenario 1.</b>&nbsp; TK teaches a graduate school class for non-U.S. attorneys. Some of TK's students are Koreans, and converse with TK in Korean. Can TK drop the honorifics to his Korean students, because he is the teacher and they are his students? No. Why? <b>Because between adults, polite speech is used.</b>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scenario 2.</b>&nbsp; At the same graduate school, TK sometimes works together with a research fellow, who is a Korean woman older than TK. TK refers to the research fellow as <i>seonbaenim </i>[upperclassman] and uses the polite speech, because she began working for the graduate school before TK did. Can the research fellow then drop the honorifics to TK, because TK is her <i>hubae</i>&nbsp;[lower-classman] and younger than she? No. Why?&nbsp;<b>Because between adults, polite speech is used.</b>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scenario 3.</b>&nbsp; TK has a close friend RB. RB is older than TK, so TK refers to him as <i>hyeong </i>[older brother], and RB drops the honorifics to TK. One day, RB introduces another one of his friend, JS, to TK. JS is the same age as RB. Can JS drop the honorifics to TK right away? No. Why?&nbsp;<b>Because between adults, polite speech is used.</b>&nbsp;JS is meeting TK for the first time. It does not matter that JS is older than TK, nor does it matter that JS is the same age as RB who has dropped the honorifics to TK.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Scenario 4.</b>&nbsp; TK, RB, and JS meet for the second time. After a few round of drinks, TK tells JS to drop the honorifics, because JS is RB's friend. JS agrees. Is this ok? Yes, because&nbsp;<b>if two adults want to break away from the default, they can work it out between them</b>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Get the picture? Now, there will be plenty of situations that seem to break the default rule, but that is only because of the second rule: two adults can always work out the level of honorifics they want for themselves. Sometimes the work-out process is explicitly verbal, as in Scenario 4; sometimes, it is a gradual transition where both parties decide over time that their arrangement is ok. What&nbsp;<i>doesn't</i> happen is some kind of complicated mathematics to figure out who deserves the honorifics, based on some kind of rigid and esoteric rules. Koreans have better things to do than that--like actually talking to each other.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-35502358133271261592017-02-18T17:30:00.000-05:002017-02-18T17:30:06.182-05:00Kim Jong-nam Assassinated<div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Dear Korean,</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>I guess you've been following the news of Kim Jong-nam's assassination and I wanted to know your thoughts about it. Do you think the assassination was really plotted by his half brother Kim Jong-un? Given that Kim Jung-nam is in self exile and doesn't seem to pose a threat to Kim Jung-un's political power, why would his brother still want him on his death list? Also, the whole assassination seems rather amateurish, carried out in broad daylight in a public place with dozens of cameras around. Do you think the whole thing could have been plotted by someone else?</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Georgia</i></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing that you can confidently say about following Korean news: there is never a dull moment. Real-life <i>Game of Thrones</i>-style international assassination carried out by two female assassins wielding poison darts on Valentine's Day. What other country can offer this kind of excitement?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wUvRJfOj7h8/WKi17V5pDpI/AAAAAAAABno/9rgwQfWYowI7JKnD_kGqAAkhnWY99J1VQCLcB/s1600/Kim%2BJong%2BNam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wUvRJfOj7h8/WKi17V5pDpI/AAAAAAAABno/9rgwQfWYowI7JKnD_kGqAAkhnWY99J1VQCLcB/s1600/Kim%2BJong%2BNam.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our dearly departed Kim Jong-nam (<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/video_previews/l/h/lhzhjwote6djq8z8n7vk-pnb7cjaa7it-large.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Some basic facts first. Kim Jong-nam is the oldest son of Kim Jong-il, the previous dictator of North Korea, and half-brother of Kim Jong-un, the current dictator. Kim Jong-il had four wives: Kim Jong-nam was the son from the first wife, and Kim Jong-un was the son from the third wife. Kim Jong-nam has been living a life of exile, mostly based out of Macao and away from North Korea's power center. It is not entirely clear if Kim Jong-nam renounced the throne (so to speak,) or Kim Jong-un was more ruthless in seizing power. At any rate, Kim Jong-nam essentially lived as a wastrel. Until he was killed in Kuala Lumpur on February 14, he was most well known for the fact that <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/16/asia/kim-jong-nam-profile/">he was caught while using a fake passport to visit Tokyo Disneyland</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But none of this means Kim Jong-nam was not a threat to Kim Jong-un. In fact, Kim Jong-nam simply being alive posed a threat to Kim Jong-un. Despite the pretensions of communism, North Korea has long been a hereditary monarchy as a practical matter, emphasizing the lineage to the first dictator Kim Il-sung as the source of legitimacy. In such a system, the first son born to the first wife always has a greater claim of legitimacy than the third son born to the third wife. This threat is so great that, in fact, <a href="http://blog.donga.com/nambukstory/archives/130262">a significant number of North Koreans do not even know Kim Jong-un has older brothers</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The threat that Kim Jong-nam posed to Kim Jong-un's power was not merely theoretical. Because there are now enough number of North Korean defectors who escaped the country, there are ex-North Korean political groups that are attempting to establish a North Korean government-in-exile. These groups claim that, because the current North Korean dictatorship is illegally occupying North Korea, there needs to be a government-in-exile that represents the country in the international stage and take a leadership role in assisting resistance within North Korea. <a href="http://blog.donga.com/nambukstory/archives/130339">At least one of these groups reached out to Kim Jong-nam, asking him to the head of state for the exile government</a>. Kim Jong-nam reportedly declined, but consider the possibilities if he took the offer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To me, particularly notable is the fact that Kim Jong-nam died within 48 hours of an <a href="http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201702111459001">explosive report from Kyunghyang Shinmun, a South Korean newspaper</a>. According to Kyunghyang, Kim Jong-nam served as a messenger between his father Kim Jong-il and Park Geun-hye, before Park became the president of South Korea. Kim Jong-nam apparently kept in regular contact with Park Geun-hye, and would deliver Park's letter to Kim Jong-il. (To be clear: it is actually old news that <a href="http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?ncd=3396386">Park Geun-hye had been sending letters to Kim Jong-il, asking Kim to allow her group based in Europe to operate in Pyongyang</a>. The news is that Kim Jong-nam was involved in the communication between the two.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition, Kyunghyang's report said when Park Geun-hye was running for president, the outgoing Lee Myung-bak administration--which belonged to the same party as Park--attempted to get Kim Jong-nam to defect to South Korea. The election of Park Geun-hye (versus the liberal candidate Moon Jae-in) was a close affair, and the conservative Lee administration was pulling out all stops for Park Geun-hye. (Other efforts included <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2013/11/presidential-election-and-spy-agency.html">using South Korean spy agency to plant fake news stories via internet comments and fake tweets</a>.) Having the oldest son of Kim Jong-il defect to South Korea would have been a massive victory for the conservatives' North Korea policy. However, the plan fell through <a href="http://news.khan.co.kr/kh_news/khan_art_view.html?artid=201702111459001">apparently because Kim Jong-nam preferred to defect to Europe or the United States, if he were to defect at all</a>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here, the usual caveat: I am just a guy with a blog who reads a lot of news. I don't have any special insight or insider information about this issue. But it does seem like a hell of a coincidence that Kim Jong-nam died within 48 hours after the news broke that he was discussing a possible defection into South Korea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Could it have been someone other than Kim Jong-un that killed Kim Jong-nam? If you are seriously thinking that, two words for you: Occam's Razor. There is no reason to overthink this. Why would anyone else bother to kill Kim Jong-nam? Because the killing seems amateurish? <i>You </i>try killing someone with poison in just five seconds.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One thing to know about North Korean spy infrastructure is that it is both extremely well trained <b><i>and</i></b> highly amateurish. The story of Kim Hyeon-hee is instructive. Kim Hyeon-hee was a North Korean spy who planted a bomb on Korean Air Flight 858 in 1987. Flight 858, which left from Baghdad to head to Seoul, exploded mid-air killing all 115 aboard. Kim was arrested, and the South Korean intelligence agency interrogated her for more than a month.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For more than a month, Kim Hyeon-hee claimed that she was a Japanese woman named Mayumi, complete with a Japanese passport and an elaborate life story of growing up in Japan, told in flawless Japanese. North Korean spy agency had trained Kim Hyeon-hee for years to play this role. North Korea even kidnapped Japanese women and smuggled them into North Korea, so that the women could act as language tutors to North Korean spies who would in turn assume their identities. (This is probably the least reported outrageous stories about North Korea.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">South Korean intelligence, however, saw through the act. How? One of the clues was that Kim Hyeon-hee, the self-described Japanese woman named Mayumi, pretended not to know how to eat <i>gim</i>--the toasted seaweed that the Japanese call <i>nori</i>. (It's the black sheet that wraps a sushi roll.) Kim also referred to Prime Minister Nakasone, although at the time a new Prime Minister had already succeeded Nakasone--an event unmissable to any Japanese person from Japan. North Korean spy agency was well trained enough to turn a North Korean woman into a flawless Japanese speaker with a complete life story, but amateurish enough to not give the woman the small details of actually being a Japanese person--which is, when you think about it, exactly how a government would work.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are already all kinds of stories swirling about Kim Jong-nam's assassination, about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/17/suspect-north-korea-killing-thought-she-was-taking-part-in-tv-prank-indonesia-siti-aisyah-police-kim-jong-nam">how the women who killed Kim Jong-nam thought they were participating in a game show</a>, etc. All of this makes me wonder how the media would have told the story if the Korean Air Line bombing happened in the internet age. (A breathless headline might read: "Is the KAL bomber a false flag operation by the Japanese?") The best thing to do in this situation--really, in any situation--is to resist the urge to jump on the latest bizarre news, give the law enforcement the time to do their jobs, and process the story when it gets clearer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36405856.post-85932616209035203702017-02-11T16:15:00.000-05:002017-02-11T16:15:43.518-05:0010 Year Reflections: On Writing<br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DWptdoqJ9BI/WJqFu8nMyXI/AAAAAAAABnM/ozpfjxHPqxErUdUDD044Adv1iSIgp6bhwCLcB/s1600/Writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DWptdoqJ9BI/WJqFu8nMyXI/AAAAAAAABnM/ozpfjxHPqxErUdUDD044Adv1iSIgp6bhwCLcB/s640/Writing.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(<a href="http://az616578.vo.msecnd.net/files/2015/11/27/635841957604688445-623502608_power-of-words-by-antonio-litterio-creative-commons-attribution-share-alike-3-0.jpg">source</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Now, time to talk about what's been happening with my life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I have said many times over that this blog began as a way to kill boredom during graduate school. But in the ten years of writing this blog, I stumbled into a career that I never envisioned for myself: being a public intellectual. Obviously, I am not a big name public voice like Andrew Sullivan or Tyler Cowen or Eugene Volokh. But over the last ten years, people began paying attention to what I had to say when it comes to Korea. The blog began to appear <a href="http://askakorean.blogspot.com/p/aak-on-media.html">more frequently on mainstream media</a>. I even parlayed the blog into writing about Korea on major publications under my real name. (No, I'm still not telling you what it is.) Journalists who cover East Asia reached out to me with increasing frequency.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the same time, my day job as a lawyer was increasingly demanding more of my time. Here is a shocker: being a big law firm lawyer is a tiresome job, and it only gets more tiresome the longer you are at it. I stared down the future of my career, and--at least at the time--saw only bleakness. So, dear readers: I carefully plotted my escape. About a year and a half ago, I finally crafted a cautious middle ground where I can continue to work at my firm while studying at a graduate school, with an eye toward becoming a law professor. I did this for the last year and a half, living a life of balancing a number of spinning plates. I wrote law review articles, worked on my cases at the law firm, studied law more deeply. And I committed myself to writing more on this blog.<br /><br />That was the plan, at least. As regular readers of this blog know, that commitment did not come through. I did not write more on this blog in the last year and a half; in fact, I wrote less. In the process, I ended up learning a few lessons about my relationship with writing.<br /><br />First lesson was that I only had a limited reserve of writing in me. I have always been a fast writer who can bang out many pages in short order. (To be sure, those initial drafts are awful and require multiple rounds of editing for them to make sense.) For the first time in my life, I was in a situation in which I had more time in a day than the amount of writing in me--which made me realize more time did not lead to more writing. My desire to put thoughts into print may be greater than most people's, but its amount is not infinite.<br /><br />I also learned when writing becomes work, the character of my writing changes in several ways. The more obvious change is the "fun" element. Part of the reason why I wrote less on the blog was because I had so much writing to do for law reviews. To be sure, writing a law review article is fun in its own way. But it is a lumbering process of reading background materials, navigating through terms of art, citing sources and crafting an argument--all part of a good writing, to be sure, but done to a point that can get tiresome. TKWife, a professional musician, enjoys playing music, but not like the way a hobbyist enjoys playing music. She might even mess around with music from time to time, but her messing around has a different quality from an amateur messing around with a guitar after a long day from work. Same became of my writing: when writing becomes a job, it can no longer remain as a hobby--or at least, not the kind of hobby you used to have.<br /><br />The less obvious change, but equally as important, was what I might call the element of "groundedness" in writing. Academic writing is paradoxical: on one hand, it requires rigorous research and sourcing of facts than ordinary writing. On the other hand, there is no limit on how outlandish or fanciful the actual content of the article can be. Of course, we want big imagination and grand vision from academics. But often--to put it crudely--the process of academic writing ends up meaning that you can say any stupid shit you want, as long as there are enough citations for your stupid shit. In this sense, my continued work at the law firm was exceedingly important; I found that on days I came to the office, my writing was a lot more "grounded." I cannot reach that groundedness by reading more academic literature; it can only be achieved by living a regular life, and absorbing the intuitions of ordinary life that are rarely verbalized and memorialized in a research paper.<br /><br />These changes led to a more fundamental question: is there any point to writing? When writing was merely a hobby, this question was not necessary. Of course there was no point to my writing. That's what hobbies are; they don't seek to achieve anything other than personal diversion. But the question became suddenly more urgent when writing became a job. You write, you explain, you argue, you accumulate knowledge--for what?<br /><br />A common answer is: for influence and change. Many people--journalists, professors and regular ol' writers--write in order to become a leading voice, gain influence and change the world closer to their vision. But precious few people actually get to see the change they advocate. Most--really, nearly all--writing is just hot gas, making a puff when exposed to the world and dissipating immediately. To have a shot at avoiding that fate, one needs to put on a performance. One needs to pick the more salacious topic and present it with more alarm, more outrage, more cuteness, more warm and fuzzies. And one needs to do it over and over again, telling and retelling the same story. It is not a bad thing to be engaged in this type of writing. But do I want it for myself? If I am taking up writing as a job to keep blogging for fun, am I not destroying the thing I have been working to preserve?<br /><br />Ten years in, this is where I am with <i>Ask a Korean!</i>. I am still spinning plates, juggling law firm life and academic life. At some point all the spinning will stop, and we will all fall down to our places. I might write more on the blog, I might write less, or not at all. More than once, I told my wife and friends I am shutting this down. That day may yet come--but for now, the plates are spinning, so we carry on. Who knows? We may be celebrating the 20 year anniversary before we know it.<br /><br /><i>Got a question or a comment for the Korean? Email away at</i> askakorean@gmail.com.&nbsp;<br /><br />p.s. I am sticking this all the way at the bottom because I am hoping that not too many people notice.<br /><br />Because of all the concerns listed above about not turning this blog into work, I made sure I made no money from the blog in the last ten years. My thought on it evolved slightly--for example, now I charge websites and medias to reprint a post from this blog, to protect the integrity of my original post. But I have never set up a paywall on the blog, nor have I put up any ad on the blog, despite the fact that this blog has gotten tens of millions of hits. In the last decade, I am running a net negative on the blog finance. (Remember, the domain name costs money to keep!)<br /><br />However, I have been seeing an uptick of reader emails asking me ways to make a donation to the blog, because the readers found my blog interesting and helpful. With the rise of crowdfunding, this became a culture of the internet in some ways--you show your appreciation by sending in a tip. I still am not comfortable with this, because I am very firm in not wanting to turn this blog into a source of income. But I figured that a ten year anniversary celebration might be a decent occasion to relax a little.<br /><br />So if you want to send me a tip, buy me a beer, celebrate 10 years of Ask a Korean!--call it whatever you want, I don't care--I opened a PayPal account under the blog's email: askakorean@gmail.com. And as always, thank you for reading.&nbsp;</div>T.K. (Ask a Korean!)http://www.blogger.com/profile/07663422474464557214noreply@blogger.com16